Hello, people! ILoveXB is here once again, with the 11th chapter, as promised! I hope you're still liking it! And also, thank you for those who actually read this story, and comment on it! I appreciate it a lot!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or any of its characters. All of it belongs to Jun Mochizuki.

On with the show, people! Into the box I shall go! *jumps into the said box*

XI. Secrecy

That afternoon, Oz was sitting on a sofa with Alice beside him, who was currently helping herself to a plate of steak at that moment.

He gazed at Alice, who looked so happy eating. But he knew that deep inside, Alice had sadness in her heart, much like how he did at the moment.

Suddenly, for unknown reasons, Alice suddenly looked up at Oz, making the latter turn away from her. "Hey, manservant!" Alice said, an innocent look on her face.

He then sighed. "W-What is it, Alice?"

"Say, what if…" Alice paused for awhile, then she continued, "… someone else finds out about our past, say, Seaweed Head, Pierrot, and Sharon… what would we do?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Well… I-I don't really know myself, Alice," he replied, looking down at the floor. "But of course, we'll also need to tell them everything, at the right time, of course. Just… just not now," he ended, a worried look on his face.

"Okay…" Alice said, eating the last piece of steak. "But if you ask me, well, I won't mind if anyone else finds out—" she suddenly stopped upon hearing a familiar voice.

"Find out about what?" Gilbert asked all of a sudden. By coincidence, Gilbert had passed by the hallway near the room where Oz and Alice were at the moment. He then eavesdropped for awhile then decided to interrupt.

"Oh, Gil," Oz said, obviously shocked. "How long have you been there?"

"Not too long, I guess," he said, lying. He'd been there as soon as Alice started talking and he knew it, but as much as it hurts him to lie to them for once, he had to do it to divulge his Master's secret. "Tell me, Oz. Admit it, you're hiding something, aren't you?"

"I am not, Gil!" he exclaimed in a defensive tone, making Gilbert more suspicious.

"Oz, please, don't play dumb with me just for once. Tell me, please… what is it you're hiding? Is it something so bad that you need to hide it even from me?" Gilbert said, his tone insistent and impatient at the same time.

"No!" Oz said stubbornly, his hands covering his ears. "Besides, I know you're hiding something, Gil! Now you tell me about it!"

Gilbert was silenced for a few moments. Never had he seen Oz this mad at him, to the point of utter denial of the truth. Then he sighed. "I… I can't just yet, Oz. At least not now," he answered, slowly shaking his head.

"See? Then you, of all people, should understand what I'm going through, no, what we're going through," Oz continued, gesturing to himself and Alice. "Also—"

"Wait, manservant!" Alice said, standing up. "Let me handle this!" she said, standing in face to face with Gilbert, having that air of superiority once again.

"Listen to me, you Seaweed Head! You, yes you, have no right to tell off your own master! Isn't your master the one who's supposed to do that?" she screamed, her voice angry.

"Shut up, you Stupid Rabbit! You don't know that much of our relationship! If you know what you're saying, then you have no right to tell me off! That just proves how stupid you really are. You are not my master in any way, and you will never be my master! Also, it is a servant's duty to correct his master!" he replied in a loud voice.

Despite feeling hurt, insulted and violated by his response, she still managed to shoot back a sharper response. "I don't give a shit about that, Seaweed Head. I still have a right to scream at you, idiot! 'Cause I still have a higher position and authority than you do! And let me correct you for once: at this point, you're not correcting your master, Seaweed Head, you're already forcing him to do something he doesn't want to do! And…" Alice paused for awhile, fighting back tears, "do you know how heavy his situation is right now? Well, it's obvious that you don't, since you wouldn't do this if you did… do you understand now?"

Gilbert remained silent, as Alice continued to talk more. How… just how long did she have these emotions bottled up inside her? He thought.

"… but if you really want to know about it, I'm more than willing to spit it out and rub it in your face! Now ask your master here, who is my servant, if he's okay with the idea. But, you know…" she paused, smiling a bit. "I think he'll tell you, 'because he really needs someone to talk to right now… so for once, I'll grant you authority to talk about those kinds of things… ALONE."

What the…? She isn't this generous. Whatever happened to the selfish Stupid Rabbit I knew? Gilbert wondered. Oh well, I'd better… grab the opportunity, I guess?

At that point, Gilbert went to his master, who was currently sitting on the sofa. In the corner of his eye, he could see Alice slightly glaring at him, then she finally closed the door to leave them alone.

Gilbert scanned the room quickly, then after that, seeing that there was no one else in the area, he turned to Oz, sitting next to him.

At that point, he was somewhat at a loss for words. "Oz… I…"

"You know what, Gil?" Oz asked, a sad smile spread all over his face.

"Huh?"

"I sort of envy Alice, even just this once…" Oz replied, the smile still there.

"I don't think there's nothing in her that you should get envious of," Gilbert said, a slight look of disgust in his face. "So, why?"

"Well… I'm actually a bit surprised that she can smile a lot these past few weeks, even though… even though I know that she's just using her smile as an excuse to hide her sadness… it's just… argh, damn it," Oz answered, getting more confused.

"Young Master…" Gilbert started. Please, Oz… don't. Just don't.

"To be honest… the only reason I don't like to tell you, Gil… is because I know that you're also carrying something heavy, so heavy that you won't tell me… and I don't want my burden to add up to yours," he said, looking down once more.

"But if you really want to know, then, I guess I have no choice but to tell you. And after that, it's up to you if you'll tell others, or if you'll manage to take it all in without having any regrets. You understand that? Gil?" he asked, worried.

Gilbert thought twice upon hearing his question. He knew that this may probably hurt him, give him deeper thoughts, even. But despite knowing this, he wanted to help his master in any way he could. And he knew that sharing a bit with his pain was probably the least he could do. So he finally answered his question. "Yes."

Upon hearing his answer, Oz took a deep breath, and then finally, he decided to tell Gilbert the whole truth… the beginning of everything, everything tragic that happened to them. And as Gilbert prepared himself, he felt as though he just jumped inside a dark and deep, no, bottomless pit.

Outside the room, as Alice leaned on the door that separated her from Oz and Gilbert, she managed to hear bits of their conversation, which meant that Oz was telling Gilbert something.

Perhaps he's telling him the truth now, she thought, managing to smirk a bit. Pfft, truth. What importance does it have other than hurting people you love? She wondered, shaking her head. Well, it's about high time, you manservant.

So, did you like it people? Tell me your thoughts! I'm here to listen~ *finally walks out of the box*

Chapter 12 will be out again tomorrow night, but it might be delayed, but still… I'll try my best to keep myself posted!

Again, I am still waiting for any of these (but not that I'm forcing you. Oh well XD):

Reviews/Comments/Criticisms/Suggestions? Don't be afraid! I don't bite! (I AM too young to bite after all. XDD)