This on turned out longer than expected! Which is good :D
I do not own Pandora Hearts.

Birthday fic for: Ozbertfangirl

Betareader: Luscinia's Lullaby

Alice was dying.

And Abyss was running out of ideas, tears were rolling down the young princess's cheeks as she ran out of the palace, pulling the black hood of her cape over her snow white hair. She tried to wipe them away and stay strong but only more would follow the others. The princess took a deep breath, it was chilly today and the sky was foggy, a day where people would be minding their own business and not paying too much attention to a young girl walking alone… or so she hoped.

Sneaking out of the palace without any guards was something someone like Alice would do, the girl chuckled softly to herself, it was sad and hollow, but the thoughts of her twin sister made her warm up a little inside as she walked to one of the many trees near the gates, it would only be a matter of time before one of the guards spotted her so she didn't hesitate and grabbed the first branch in her arms' reach, setting her left foot on the trunk, lifting herself up so that she could grab another branch with her other arm. The white haired princess had never been good at climbing, Alice had been better at such things and of course when the brown haired girl had met prince Oz - someone who could climb trees as well - she had been more than pleased to climb together in the highest tree while Abyss had shouted from the safe ground that it was dangerous and that they should come down, this of course led to the two soon to be wed teens bursting out in laughter.

Abyss gritted her teeth, making sure not to look back down because of her fear of heights. "The things I do for my sister," she half joked, just a little more and-
Her foot slipped, the girl gasped for air as her hands let go of the branch, she desperately tried to grab something in the air- Help! I'm going to fall! She shut her eyes tight and embraced herself for the fall.

Something grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the wall where she could sit down, princess Abyss opened her eyes in surprise and gazed straight into the single red eye of her chain, Cheshire.

A relieved smile appeared on the Baskerville's face, "Thank you," she breathed out,

"Is not a problem," the cat purred, already starting to vanish again, "Be careful, mistress!"

"I will!" she laughed as she let herself fall of the high walls, landing gracefully on the ground. Grateful that no one had seen her jump, so the princess quickly ran away.

Running as fast as she could, her hood blew off her head because of the wind, if not for her hair being tied up it would have gotten loose as well and flutter behind as well.

Abyss finally slowed down when she reached the local market, quickly pulling the black hood back over her head so that people would not recognize her. She easily blended into the crowd. Looking for anyone who was selling medicine.

Of course she realized how stupid this was, she had no idea what sort of poison Alice had taken in, and she didn't know anything about antidotes, but she was desperate and everyone was keeping her out of this and treating her like a kid- she wanted to help her sister! Not just sit there and wait for the poison to do its job.

But what could she do? The girl felt tears burning in her eyes once again and took a deep breath, crying wasn't going to get her anywhere.

Her eyes widened a bit when she noticed a man dressed in black standing behind a medicine stall, there were many other people selling medication yet this particular young man stand stood out to her. The princess narrowed her eyes slightly as she stepped closer to the stand, the man had long blond hair, he would have been better off being a knight with his handsome features rather than a simple pharmacist. But that's not what caught her attention at all; it was the crimson red eye that demanded her attention… a child of misfortune.

Just like her mother-

"Looking for something?" the young man asked with a slightly amused smile, even though the look in his eyes was bored and indifferent, as if he couldn't wait to leave this place. She had never seen him here before, princess Abyss had often wandered around the market, accompanied by the Baskervilles, but not once had she seen this handsome man. "A-ah… yes, I'm looking for… a…" she lowered her gaze and read some of the many difficult names on the bottles; hah… she didn't know what any of those names meant.

"Ah yes, I do believe we have one of those." The man said, was he mocking her? Yet… she cocked her head slightly to left, he spoke as if he knew something.

"I'm… looking for an antidote." She softly spoke, her eyes big and hopeful.

"Don't they all?" the man chuckled, "Some are looking for something against a headache, others for their sore back…"

"No! I- that's not what I mean-… I'm- my si- my dog has been poisoned."

"Try the vet," the man yawned, yet the ghost of a smile never left his face, he seemed to know exactly what she needed. But such a thing could not be possible… right?

"Please, sir." The princess gazed straight into his bored eyes that didn't seem to pity her at all, "I need help, it's important. My d-dog- might die… and no one knows what sort of poison it is." she was on the edge of crying again, god how she hated herself right now.

"Do you know the price of antidotes, princess?" he asked her,

She froze when he called her that, was it meant as a nickname? Or did this man truly know about the royal blood that ran through her veins, no, she shook her head. He couldn't even see her face properly thanks to the shadow of her hood… there was no way this man knew who she was. "I can pay, my father is very rich!" ah- her eyes started to water again. Her father had died in the fire… she sniffed and angrily wiped a tear away.

This stranger still looked at her with an expression that showed no pity, but either he finally caught on or really did know what she had been looking for. "Well, I have this… it works for almost every deathly poison." He showed a small green bottle with a dark liquid in it to her.

She reached her hand out to it but stopped halfway, shaking her head. "This is not what I'm searching for," she spoke, somewhere in the back of her head she could hear her chain hiss, he did not like this stranger. Not that Abyss was much of a fan of him herself; he made a shiver run down her back. "Please, sir! I'll pay you as much as you want. Give me an antidote for my sister!" she hadn't realized her mistake.

"I might have something for you, but what you want is not cheap."

"I don't care- please!" she held out her hand to him, it was as if the world had slowed down, in her head she could hear a clock ticking… this man, with that eerie smile on his face had known exactly what she had been looking for from the start. How? How did he even know what poison it was? Why did he have an antidote while doctors from overseas didn't even know what had happened to her sister?

The man dropped a purple bottle with white liquid in the palm of her hand and with his warm hands, he guided her fingers to hold onto it as he said his price- it was indeed very expensive and she doubted she had that much money with her. The girl nodded and handed him her bag of golden coins, she then started removing all of her jewelry and handed it to the man without a second thought. With this, Alice could be saved. "Now, tell me how to use it," she spoke softly, watching as the man put all of it away with just one arm movement.

"Put it in her drink before she sleeps, your sister will be cured."

"Thank you…" she bowed her head and then left, there were probably a lot more things she should say, she should have asked at least his name but there was no time for that. The princess started running again, her mind was a mess and she didn't even apologize to the people she ran into, she stood out- but didn't care.

Alice was saved.

For the first time in a whole week she could laugh again, it bubbled up from inside her stomach and left her mouth as the first droplets fell out of the grey sky. But the princess didn't care, she laughed as she kept running.

"I don't think he went to the village…" Gilbert said to the sleeping boy as he gazed outside the window, the rain was ticking against the thick glass- Vincent had taken two horses… one to carry everything and one to ride. Which meant he would be travelling farther than usual. The raven, never liked it when Vincent went somewhere he couldn't get to fast enough unless he used Raven, what if the blond haired male was in danger? He wouldn't be able to do anything… wouldn't know anything.

It made him feel powerless, not worthy being the older brother... And Gil did not want to be anything like that small and weak boy that lived on the streets again.

He didn't have much time to think about his brother, because that's when the small blond haired teen made a soft sound. The young man looked over his shoulder at the boy, thinking he'd awaken for another short moment, where he'd just look around and then doze off again. Sometimes he was lucky and the boy would actually sit up and let Gil feed him, wash him, change his clothes… but he'd soon lose consciousness again, not speaking even once.

"Ah, would you like to drink something?" he asked, usually if the boy needed something he'd sit up… of course Gil would have to figure out what exactly he needed by himself.

The boy once again did not respond, but something seemed different- his eyes were no longer foggy and he lethargically gazed around the room as he rubbed his tired face with his right hand, breathing in through his nose- it was only then that he realized someone had spoken to him. The boy blinked a few times before his gaze rested on the tall young man who had been standing near the window this whole time. Confusion was written all over his face- well, at least they were getting somewhere if the teen was already able to show emotions.

Golden eyes widened in surprise when the boy opened his mouth and actual words came out of it, "Who… are you?" ah no, he realized that was perhaps the wrong question to begin with… Gilbert was just too surprised to even respond, he gazed at the boy with realization written all over his face, "Where am I?" he then asked and looked around once more, this place didn't look familiar at all.

Before Gil could answer, the boy already seemed to be losing consciousness once again, holding his head as he tried to stay awake just a bit longer. There were so many things he wanted to ask… but his questions would have to wait. Gilbert sighed as he walked towards the bed and gently pushed the boy back down again. "It's alright, we'll talk once you get better."

Even though the words were meant to calm the boy down, they didn't seem to have that effect on him at all, holding onto this strange raven haired man, his eyes narrowed as he tried desperately to remember what had happened, how he got here and who this man was- ...but nothing seemed to work. His mind was foggy and the world was starting to fade away right in front of his eyes.

"It's alright, it's alright." The man kept repeating those words in such a composed voice, that the boy who had been about to go into a panic attack slowly calmed down. His body started to relax and he let go of the Raven's sleeve,

"…Your… name?" the boy then asked softly, Raven didn't get the chance to answer because that's when the blond haired teen had fallen asleep again.

That had been the first time the boy had talked to him, the boy had been awake enough to actually talk and let Gil's words sink in, he had understood them. That was a good thing, right?

"He's showing improvement, yes." Vincent had agreed after throwing the newspaper on the small wooden table in the middle of their kitchen, the blond yawned as he leaned against the counter; his hair was slightly damp after having to travel from the capital city to home through the rain. Not that his brother needed to know he had travelled that far and had gotten richer by such a small effort. "It's taking longer than I hoped, I must admit." He then continued with a slightly bored expression, a white towel resting on his shoulder so that his clothes wouldn't get wet. "Oh well, I've never treated a patient that mixed two of my poisons before, I guess I can't complain."

"I guess not," the raven agreed, his words not really getting through him as he grabbed the newspaper and started reading it himself, eyes widened just a bit when he read the headline. The man took a deep breath, reading the rather long article. "You knew." he sounded tired.

"It wasn't hard to figure it out," Vincent nodded, "Don't worry brother. I won't tell anyone as long as you want to keep his presence a secret." Vincent easily waved it off with that composed smile on his face,

-Of course he won't tell anyone. The few people that knew Vincent knew him as someone who never kept his promises, that was because the young male was loyal to only one person.-

Gilbert sighed as he gazed at the picture of the traitorous Vesalius family from their neighboring country, they all had a cross on their face, except for the boy standing next to the king, the picture was in black and white yet he still recognized him. "Oz Vesalius," he read aloud, he then looked at the reward you'd get for turning him in, "That's a lot of money…".

"It will only be a matter of time before they start knocking on our door," Vincent sighed, not being in the mood to deal with annoying people. Neither was Gil, both had frowns on their faces as they went through the risks of keeping the boy here. What good would come out of it for them?

"Perhaps we should do it…" Raven then spoke after a rather long silence, "Imagine what we could do with this money… I don't think we'd ever have to work again." He continued, still gazing at the newspaper so that he did not see how his younger brother's eyes widened, Vincent remained silent as he spoke. "B-besides, we've already done enough for him. Honestly, why are we still keeping him here…. right?"

The answer he got was nothing like he expected, Vincent had burst out laughing, having to hold his stomach as he leaned heavily against the counter, otherwise he'd fall.

"Wh-what?" a rather flustered and confused Gil asked,

"Oh brother, like you could do that." The blond said, wiping away a tear.

"I'm being serious, though!" Gilbert angrily got up from his chair, no he was not. How could he ever turn in someone that young? The boy had been so small, so weak… when he found him. The newspaper had said he was already fifteen years old yet the male had thought he was younger. Vincent had easily seen through that lie, the only reason he had said it was to convince himself. Vincent would have done it without a second thought. The only reason the boy was still here was because he did not have the strength to turn his back on people in need.

"What can we do with him, though?" He sighed as he sat down again,

"I've always wanted a servant," Vincent said with a smile on his face.

Gilbert gave him a confused glare.

"I'm joking." The blond laughed.

"Lady Dalia has always wanted a little brother, hasn't she?" he then mumbled as he gazed outside the window, head resting in the palm of his head.

"Are you thinking about handing him over to Miss Garland?" Vincent asked, the smile never left his face. Yet his voice sounded bitter, showing his brother whom had already gotten used to this behavior, how much he truly despised the woman.

"I don't think there's much else we can do for him, he's from royalty after all. Lady Dalia will surely give him everything he needs until it's safe for him to come out again."

"We'll see…" Vincent nodded, gaze falling on something just behind Gil.

"A-ah sorry!" No. Not "something", someone. It seemed that their prince had woken up once again and this time had been able to walk. Gilbert didn't know how long he had been standing in that doorway and how much he had heard, neither could he understand how the boy had snuck up there without either Vincent nor Raven noticing him in time. Both were trained hunters; even though it had been some time since they were last sent on a mission for Pandora. "I… just…" he pointed to something over his shoulder, probably meaning in his room. "I woke up… a while ago and…"

"You're hungry." Vincent finished his sentence, a wild guess and it was obvious that was not what the boy had wanted to say, if he even knew what he had been trying to say at all, that is.

The prince's stomach growled just at that moment and he desperately tried to hide his embarrassment; glancing nervously at the raven-haired man that he remembered from the previous time he had woken up. "N… no I just…"

"It's fine, I should start making dinner anyway," Gil got up from his chair, "Would you like to drink something?"

"Ah… no, that's fine." The teen awkwardly mumbled as he lowered his gaze, instead looking at the too big shirt he was wearing. It was more of a dress really than a shirt to him. You could see that Gil had tried to make it a bit less obvious, having rolled up his sleeves and kept them in place with a paper-clip.

"Mint tea, please." Vincent answered instead,

"Go make it yourself," was the cold response.

"How mean, brother." Even though he said that, Vincent had an amused smile on his face. He then started looking for the mint leaves. "I sure hope you like mint-tea, prince."

There was silence.

Both brothers looked up at the same time to gaze at the small boy who had kept standing silently in the doorway, his eyes were wide open as he gazed with a startled expression at the younger brother. "Is there something the matter?"

"A-Ah… no." Oz shook his head quickly, "It's fine."

"Oh my, brother. I think he might be scared that we'll betray him for a huge amount of money." Vincent said in a laughing tone.

"Oh…" Gil glanced at the prince, "We won't." he explained to the small boy, "Don't worry about that… stay as long as you like, I guess."

Apparently, that didn't seem to calm him down, but he still sat down, not sure what else there was that he could do or say. He really was short for his age, Gil noted when seeing the boy barely touched the floor with his toes. His big emerald colored eyes scanned around the kitchen. Had the prince ever been in a kitchen before? The raven then silently wondered as he started cutting the vegetables that would go into the soup. "How much do you remember?" he then asked, he was both trying to start a conversation and testing if the teen's memory was okay. "Of the party?"

There was no answer; Oz had slightly bowed his head as he gazed at the palms of his hands with a painful expression, remembering the party vividly. He could still imagine Alice talking to him, wearing a beautiful green dress, the color of the Vesalius household. She had never been a fan of dresses, but Sharon had helped her choose this one… he remembered how lovely she had looked and how she wouldn't stop complaining about how much she hated parties. The prince remembered the many breaks he had to take because he had been ill at the time, how Alice had always remained by his side and waited patiently for him to get some of his strength back. Oz had talked with many people that night; the Baskervilles, people he had never met, Sharon Rainsworth, Xerxes Break, people from the Nightray and Barma households and then of course his own-... "My family," he suddenly looked up, "Everyone-...A... are they alright?"

It was as if all they really could do was answer with silence, Gilbert didn't know how to explain this calmly to the boy and Vincent didn't seem to be in the mood to explain things to him. Of course, the youngest brother was being tactless and simply pushed the newspaper towards the prince before he turned around again, to keep an eye on the water he was boiling.

"Vince!" of course, his brother did not agree with this way of explaining,

"Let him read it, Gil. He'll have to find it out sooner or later anyway." The blond man easily waved it off, "Look after the tea," he said, then there were no more words exchanged after that, Gil handed him the knife he had used to cut the vegetables and they switched places.

Oz noticed this, but did not comment on it as he was too focused on reading the article. The prince didn't have to read much to understand what had happened. As if time had slowed down, he could hear a faint ringing in his ears as he read a particular sentence over and over again. Dead.They were dead.

His Father, his little sister, and his uncle… they are dead. Looking at one of the pictures he saw the corpse of little Aida with her face in the mud, whomever had taken the picture and chose to put it in this article had no respect for the Vesalius family at all. This couldn't be true, right? He had talked with his uncle and Aida! He had seen his father at the party! How could they just… be dead? They had failed to escape from the fire. Which meant Miss Kate had lied, she had told him they had gotten out since that would have been the only way to convince her master to leave as well.

The prince didn't even look up when Gil put a cup of warm tea on the table for him, he didn't talk at all, just stayed there, still holding the newspaper as he gazed at nothing in particular.

Why?

They did not deserve a death like this… their bodies had been burned with all the others and that was that. No funeral, no ceremony… nothing. He hadn't even gotten a chance to say goodbye.

It felt like something had snapped inside of him, someone had dug a huge hole into his chest, his throat hurt, his eyes were burning and the whole world had just stopped breathing for a while. Everyone thought he was a traitor, his family was dead.

This was a disaster.

"Look… uhm, your grace-" or whatever you're supposed to call a prince, Gilbert awkwardly started after Vincent had put a hot bowl of soup in front of the boy who still had not responded, "I…"

"Oz." the boy finally let his gaze rest on the food, only a short time ago he had been hungry and would have eaten right away… but he couldn't eat anymore. "Just Oz." that was all there was, really. What was he now?

He was stuck in this country where everyone wanted his head, he had not a single penny in his pockets and no title.

He had lost everything he cared about in one single night, the realization hit him hard. Bowing his head once again, the prince's eyes were burning, but his eyes remained dry.

The raven haired man glanced at his younger sibling, both exchanging a knowing look before the older brother spoke, taking a deep breath...

"Oz… then."