I'm back, again. Sorry for not updating in a few days. School is giving me lots of homework, which leaves me with limited times for working on my stories. I would of posted this sooner, but I was out driving for an hour when I got home, and I just finshed doing algebra homework. Sigh, such a tough life. But here's the next chapter.

I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way.

Chapter 23: Sablier, 1711 (Carrie)

Preferably, the dreams I've been having at night were getting stranger and stranger, and I wish they would get back to normal. Looks like that wasn't happening anytime soon.

I found myself sitting on my knees in what appeared to be a hallway. It was semi dark here and for some reason, it seemed hazy and there was the smell of...smoke?

'This whole place smells of smoke, but why?' I wondered.

Getting on my feet, I blinked before starting to make my way down the hall. The smell of smoke still surrounded me, and as I walked along, it was starting to burn my eyes slightly. It was annoying me that my eyes were watering because of this, and I still wondered why.

Up ahead, I could see what looked like an opening into a large room 'Finally. Maybe now I can get a sense as to where I am.'

I couldn't have been more wrong.

I picked up my pace and ran out into the room, onto a balcony. There was a flash of something bright and warm, and when I was able to see past it, a horrible sight greeted my eyes, and answering why I could smell smoke all around,

Yes, I was standing on a balcony, but all around me, everything was on fire.

'W-what is this?' Curtains were burning, fire danced around, and the smoke thicker here. I slapped a hand over my mouth in an effort to keep from inhaling any more smoke. It was the only way to make sure I wouldn't suffocate under all this smoke, but it wasn't helping much.

"H-help!" I squinted my eyes and on the lower floor I was able to see a girl rush through a doorway, her eyes franticly darting around. Through all the fire and smoke, I was able to make out her appearance. She was wearing a dress, torn at the edges, or maybe burned. Her long hair was a mess, and I was able to catch one glance of her eyes; a light blue.

'Anastasia?' It was indeed her, standing there amidst the flames. 'What's she doing here?'

I then remembered what I had heard about her from Maverick, that she had been mysteriously killed along with her friend Aaron when they were both 16 on the day of...

I'm in the middle of the Tragedy of Sablier.

'That's the only logical explanation! But why?' She kept looking around before dashing off in another direction.

"No." I muttered. I can't let her out of my sight. If I'm really here, on this day that took place 300 years ago, and the deaths of those two people were a mystery, this was my chance to find out the exact circumstances.

Quickly moving down the stairs, I went in the direction were Anastasia had gone off. Running down the had that I had seen her go, the smoke wasn't necessarily getting thicker, but the smell of everything burning was still here.

I was able to follow her along the winding hallways, but my mind was still buzzing with questions. 'Why is she here? Where is she going? Am I only following her to her death? Is she looking for Aaron?'

Soon, I followed her into a courtyard and there, I saw her stop when she saw a boy with black hair kneeling on the ground.

"Aaron!" She ran over to him, putting a hand on his back and kneeling down beside him as well.

He coughed as I approached them, a hand to his chest as if he was trying to clear smoke from his lungs, which was probably accurate. "A-Anna." He managed between coughs. "What are you-"

"Oh God. I think you inhaled to much smoke!" She cried. "I don't know what's going on, but I've got to get you out of here! The Baskervilles are just going around and killing everyone and the whole castile is burning!"

His eyes seemed weary, but then they widened, as if he had seen something. "No! Anna, don't come here!"

He sounded like he was trying to warn her of something, but she wasn't paying attention. "Look, you can't stay here like this. Otherwise, your body will-"

"Anna, get away!" He pushed her away just as he scurried backwards, looking extremely alarmed. I turned by eyes in the direction he was looking at, and I saw a man in a dark cloak on the other side of the courtyard. His hair was dark and short, and his clothing was just as dark as well. When I saw the man's eyes though, I was struck by surprise when I saw a light purple.

"Glen Baskerville." I breathed.

"Glen-sama!" Anastasia exclaimed. "You're alright!"

"Why wouldn't I be, child?" He replied in his cold tone.

"No, Anna, he isn't what he seems!" Aaron shouted to her.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" she said, letting out a small chuckle and starting to walk past Aaron towards Glen.

"Glen-sama was the one who gave the command to kill everyone!"

Anastasia stopped dead in her tracks, looking back at Aaron with wide eyes, then back to Glen. "G-Glen-sama...?"

"Yes, child, he speaks the truth."

"What?" Her voice trembled, as if she was unable to believe it. "But...why?"

"There really is no reason for you to know, much less being able to understand." He answered her.

"But why was there any reason for such a thing? Surely there must be some reason!"

"I said you don't need to know!"

She took a step back when he shouted those words to her. Aaron, meanwhile, was still on the ground, probably still trying to breathe in clean air after being in that place. "Glen-sama, I-"

She fell silent when Glen turned away from them and started to walk away. "Where are you going, Glen-sama?"

He stopped and turned back around. "In order to obtain the Intention, Alice must be used."

"Alice?" She exclaimed in alarm. "What are you saying? Are you planning on using her for that ridiculous notion?"

"Young Anastasia, you didn't need to know this at all. The only reason I told you is because you insisted upon knowing, and your talents could help to obtain our goal. However, you keep denying."

"Glen-sama, if you intend to cause Alice any harm," The winds gusted then and her long hair was blown back by this gust. "I will protect her, and I will defend her from you. This is because she is my friend, and I will never forgive you if you hurt her."

"It's really a shame that you don't intend to use your talents. But since you are an obstacle at the moment, I have to dispose of you." I saw black feathers in the air. "Jabberwock, if you will?"

Anastasia looked up, letting out a yelp as she saw the Chain appear. Glen only was silent as it aimed one of it's sharp claws at her and swung it's arm at her.

'This is...how she dies.' I realized.

"Anastasia!" Someone cried out, although it sounded more like a harsh scream.

In the blink of an eye, just as Jabberwock was about to strike her, I had been shocked to see Aaron jump in front of her, shielding her from the attack, but he had taken the blow instead. Surprisingly, he had been able to stay on his feet for a moment before he swayed and fell to the ground.

"Aaron!" Her cry was willed with shock, catching the black haired boy in her arms before he hit the ground, bringing her down with him.

Now I was able to see the damage it had done. There were three long slash marks across his chest, staining his clothes red. His eyes remained half open, but were hazy and cold, much like his face that was becoming pale. It made me shudder just looking at the broken boy lying in her arms.

"Hmm. Most regrettable." She looked up from him to Glen, the Chain now fading away. "Jack had told me once of you and how much you liked this boy. But, if you'll excuse me, I don't have time for these petty things. I have a more important matter at hand to attend to."

With that, he turned around and left. When he was gone, all I could hear was the crackling of flames in the distance around me, a haze of smoke still lingering.

I looked back at Anastasia, who seemed to be staring off into the distance were Glen had gone, that is until she was interrupted by a coughing sound.

"Aaron!" I walked closer to her and looked over her shoulder and down at Aaron. His eyes wearily gazed up at her, and blood trickled down from a corner of his mouth.

'There's no way he can hang on for much longer.' I knew that was true. He had sustained to heavy of an injury, and given the fact that he was frail to begin with and he had inhaled a considerate amount of smoke, that made maters worse.

His life would soon be over.

"I'm...not going to get out of here...am I...Anna?" He croaked.

I caught a glance of her eyes, which were brimming with tears. "No, don't say that! Of course you'll..."

Her words trailed off, clearly not being able to throw out a lie like that in front of him, when she knew he wouldn't be okay. She knew he was going to die.

"Aaron...why?" She asked, her voice choked with sorrow.

He coughed up blood again, but managed a smile. "Isn't it obvious? It's because I love you. I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

His eyes slipped shut, which quickly concerned Anastasia. "Aaron, stay with me!"

Aaron's eyes cracked open, but they had lost their shine. "Anastasia, I love you and I will forever find you, don't you ever forget that. I'll wait for you."

His eyes closed again, and with a soft sigh, his last breath, his head titled and it was clear that he had ceased to breathe.

Aaron was gone.

"Aaron?" She got no response. "Aaron. No, don't do this to me! Wake up! Come on, please! Dear God, Aaron, please wake up! Wake up! Please!"

I felt a stab of pain for the girl as she desperately tried to wake him, but she only seemed to be lying to herself. It was like she couldn't admit that her best friend and lover was dead, laying lifeless in her arms.

"Aaron!"

A shudder ran through me as I opened my eyes, relief soon replacing it when I saw Leo laying next to me, peacefully sleeping. He had said he hadn't been sleeping well lately, but he looked fine now, so maybe he was actually getting some actual sleep, not just passing out in the middle of the day because he was tired. Maybe he was having some pleasant dreams.

Speaking of dreams, the one that had just ended had left me with a profound sense of sadness. Seeing him die in her arms, it was a very sad thing to see. But also, there was something else lingering around me as well; heat.

The heat of the burning fire around me, I could still feel it. And that smell, it was faint, but I couldn't forget about it. Everything that I had seen, it was burned into me, and it felt so real, like I was glancing back into a memory.

"Carrie."

I was snapped out of my wondering, Leo's voice bringing me back. "Oh, sorry. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Not at all." I suddenly felt a hand on the side of my face, and warmth crept into my cheeks when I realized it was Leo's.

"You're not catching a cold, are you?" He asked. "You feel feverish."

"Ah, no, I'm fine." I then noticed there was a blanket lying over us. "Eh? A blanket?"

"Huh, what do you know?" Leo must of taken notice of it too. "I wonder when that got there."

"Who knows." I figured Sasha must of came in and seen us, which would explain how this blanket got here. "Anyways, I'm fine. It was just a dream."

"What kind of dream?" He asked, sudden interest lingering in his voice.

I went tense, now feeling regret in saying that. But not even I could draw conclusions from those dreams yet. "It was one that felt so real." I started to explain. "There was the smell of smoke, and everything was burning. I saw that girl again, Anastasia, with that boy, Aaron, in a courtyard. Then 'he' appeared. He was about to kill Anastasia, but Aaron jumped in front of her, and he was killed instead."

I buried my head in the sheets, Leo's hand no longer on me. "Carrie-"

"Leo, it all felt so real. What if...what if me and Anastasia are the same person? I can't explain it, so what are these dreams supposed to mean?"

I heard him sigh. "Carrie, don't worry about that much right now. I'm sure you'll find a reason, and I'll help you with that. I promise you."

I blinked and looked up from the sheets, but he had fallen silent once again, probably asleep again. My hand twitched, and that was the first time I had noticed that our hands were still locked together, a smile crossing my face as I looked at our intertwined hands.

'Leo, I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark.' I thought as I closed my eyes again. 'I promise, tomorrow, I'll tell you everything; About what I know about Anastasia and Aaron, about me being the possible reincarnation, about my strange dreams, and...about my feelings for you.

Another dream, but she's getting closer to the point and reason behind them. Feel free to review, as always. (I know I'm reptative when I say that.)