Consequences

A bit of time had passed, maybe only a couple of weeks, and the whole castle was talking. Oz had managed to protect Gil this far, but even he knew it was getting to the point where if they didn't come up with a good, solid plan for an escape into the free world, then there were going to be some bad things happening. And Oz wasn't ready to have blood on his hands yet. Looking over to the raven-haired boy, Oz couldn't help but smile at the sight. He was still sleeping. He couldn't blame him. It was even too early for him to be up.

Pushing the thought aside, he walked back in from the balcony, and sat on the side of the bed, brushing a few stray strands of hair from Gil's face. There was no better sight than Gil's soft expression while he slept. He was lying on his back, head tilted to the side a little, his mouth opened just the slightest, with one arm across his stomach, and his other hand resting near his head. There had been a whole lot of protesting from the boy the night before about sleeping in 'The Young Master's' room.

Which only earned him a light 'wap' over the head, before he was dragged into the room and forced to lay down until he fell asleep. Which was when Oz decided he wasn't tired, and wanted to just watch him sleep. It was an adorable sight, and Oz couldn't get the image out of his head as Gil had rolled over so he faced the blond, cuddling up to his chest.

And here he was, about to wake Gilbert up to let him know he had an early day. He wondered what he had to do so early in the morning, and why it couldn't have waited. But the crazy maid lady had told him it was urgent.

Oz didn't trust any of the people in the castle as far as he could throw them...Without the power of his chain.

"Oh!" Oz realized, slamming his fist into an open palm, looking over to the slightly smaller bed in his room, grinning before he got up, ran over, and jumped on the bed. "!" He called, latching onto the girl, nuzzling into her neck affectionately. Which, in turn, earned him a good 'WHACK' to the head. "Ow ow ow ow ow!" He whined, sitting up and holding his head while a fuming Alice glared at him.

"So help you...If you ever wake me up that way again, I'll murder you!" There was a light blush on her cheeks, which Oz took as he had scared her when he did that. With a sheepish smile, he looked up at her.

"Heh. Sorry about that, Alice, but I have an early day today, and I was..."

"Did you change in here?" Her face turned several more shades of red, noticing his daily attire. Oz chuckled, and dodged a pillow, holding up his hands.

"Alice, please listen. I'm worried." He admitted, glancing back to make sure Gil was still asleep. "Please, keep a close eye on him for me. If he's in one piece when I get back, I'll make sure you get all the meet you want tonight." He promised, and Alice perked up.

"You can count on me!" She chirped, nodding. Oz smiled and nodded back, standing and stretching a bit, glancing back to Gil again.

"I don't think I'm going to wake him up. He looks so peaceful like that. If he asks, I had to attend something with Uncle Oscar." He informed, flicking a wave over his shoulder as he headed out of the room, his hand moving to the incuse on his chest, just over his heart. He had just thought about it the night before, and it was starting to hurt a little bit. He figured it was nothing, and continued the day.

Heading down the hall, he didn't see another maid watching with saddened eyes. She was one that was hardly around, but over the past couple of weeks, she had seen the light in the young boy's eyes that hadn't been there since he was just a child. She didn't want to be around when Oz found out about what was going to conspire while he was out. It was actually a scary thought, and she shook her head, turning to do her job, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh.

…...

A couple of hours passed since Oz had left the room, and Gil was rudely awaken by the door being forced open. Alice was quick to ready herself for a fight. Oz had a key to the room, so he had no need to force his way in, and Gilbert was her key to meet that night. Seeing several of the castle's guards, Alice's eyes narrowed, as she knelt on the bed in front of Gil, blocking him from view. The boy's eyes were widened in fear at what was going on. He had a very bad feeling about it all, too.

"State your business!" Alice demanded, standing slowly and folding her arms with a cocky look on her face.

"We're here for the boy. And who are you?" The leader asked. Very few knew of Alice's existence within the castle walls.

"I am Alice! Oz Bezarius' master!" She declared, her scythe appearing out of no where. Sadly, she couldn't release her full potential without Oz around, so it was going to be a tricky battle.

"Get her!"

"Gil, run! He's with Oscar!" Alice called over her shoulder, turning and charging at those that had dared to come at her. Gil listened, and found a route to escape. Oz had made a passage to escape years ago.

Unfortunately, others in the castle knew about this, and he was greeted by a few people with ropes, and tape.

"MASTER OZ!" It was the last thing Gil got out before the world around him went black.

…...

"Gah! Finally, freedom!" Oz called as he stretched, blinking when he looked to Oscar. Something had seemed off with him all day. "Hey, Uncle Oscar, is there something the matter? You've looked off all day." He pointed out, tilting his head as he folded his hands behind it. Oscar blinked, then forced a smile and shook his head.

"All I can say is...I'm sorry, Oz..." Oz felt his heart drop, his arms slowly falling to his sides, his eyes going wide. He snapped around and all but kicked the door open.

"GILBERT!" He yelled as he ran back towards the main house. How could his uncle, Uncle Oscar, do that to him. Oscar was ashamed of himself, to say the least. He knew had might have just helped ruin the best thing that Oz ever had in his life.

Forcing his legs to go, Oz made his way back, his legs burning by the time he reached the entrance. "GIL!" He yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. One of the maids jumped when they heard Oz, and looked to him, a solemn look crossing her features.

"Master Oz, you're back." Oz looked over, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Don't even. Where is he?" He growled out, walking towards her. She swallowed hard and took a step back.

"Now, Young Master, don't get ahead of yourself...It was Ms. Kate's idea." She said, hoping that would deter the blond for a moment. She really didn't want to be on the receiving end of Oz's anger. No one had ever seen him get mad, or anything of the sort. And with the events going on at this moment, the poor maid was afraid Oz would murder someone if he didn't get answers soon.

"MS. KATE!" Oz called, storming down the hall. Said woman blinked, and looked to him with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Young Master, you're back."

"Don't you 'Young Master' me. Where is my Gil?"

"Hm? Oh, him. He was taken away, by orders of Master Zai." The second those words left her lips, her back was against the wall, coming face-to-face with fiery-green eyes. Oz's grip on her arms was tight, sure to leave bruises if it was held too much longer.

"Tell me where he is. Now. Or I'll rip your head clean off your shoulders." He growled out, and she paled.

"He's in the dungeon." She responded, gasping when he released her and turned to head off, only to be stopped. "Young Master, you have to think about what this will do to the Bezarius name."

"Screw this family. I'm taking Gilbert, Alice, and my child, and getting the hell out of here. I can't trust anyone here, now can I?" He asked, his eyes hollow as he walked away. He wanted nothing more than to just call Alice, release her into her real form, and kill everyone within the castle's walls.

But he was focused more on Gil at the moment. He needed him more than ever. He just hoped he wasn't too late...

~Panda~