When the Clock's Hands strike ( Pandora Hearts Fanfiction ) > MAJOR EDIT <

Clockwork

" It's ... so bright ... " blinded by the startling flash of white as I opened my eyes, I immediately shut my eyelids again as I felt a hand ruffle through my hair fondly as the familiar voice spoke and I heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that I wasn't alone here in this unfamiliar place.

" I'm so relieved, that you're all right, thank goodness ... " I blinked as I saw Yuon's concerned face right above mine and reached for it unconsciously and he helped me sit upright on the couch without a word, as though purposedly trying to distance himself from me. Was he ... mad ... at me ?

" You're Ai, right ? Your guardian was telling some reaaaaally interesting things about you, shall we adjourn to the other room for some tea while we wait for that boy to wake up ? " the man with the wine red eyes smiled as he swung his cane carelessly in the air and I looked at the lavish decorations of the place we had found ourselves in, somehow. A chandelier hung above our heads, on which candles flickered with a mysterious glow which casted shadows all around the corners of the room. It was ... so bright, much brighter compared to when I had been inside the Abyss all this while, it was ... so warm ... how long had I already forgotten this longing to reach out to the light once more ?

" Stop your fooling around and explain to us why we're here, " Yuon demanded with a loud crash as he overturned the coffee table on his right beside the couch we were sitting on where a teapot and two cups of, what I assume was tea, stood. The spilled liquid was a light translucent brown that seeped into the grey carpet in a matter of seconds, leaving nothing more than a large brown stain and broken pieces of porcelain.

" You're such a tease ! The Way just happened to open in our living room and the three of you appeared so we decided we would be kind and take you under our protection instead of throwing you to the harsh surroundings outside ! " the man explained cheerfully as he leaned the girl who had been sleeping against him to the other side so that her head now rested on a velvet purple cushion on the other end.

" That doesn't explain why you would be keeping us here, " Yuon continued, his hand reaching for the blade he always hid in his belt in case of emergencies which required him to draw a weapon for close-range fighting when he didn't have one readily available.

" Alright, alright ! You don't have to be so impatient ! I'm Xerxes Break, the one who serves the Rainsworth Dukedom -- this little one is Emily. We can't be too loud, I don't want to wake up Sharon or those two there. They've been trying to keep awake the entire night but it seems they couldn't do it, they must be exhausted, " the man answered with a grin as the doll on his shoulder chattered noisily as though agreeing to whatever that man had just said.

" ... Yuon ... I want ... to eat ... " I tugged on his sleeve as I whispered in his ear when he leaned forward and I watched the disapproving frown which formed on his face when he ran through the possible outcomes of this course of action in his mind.

" Come on ! It's only tea ! I'm not going to do anything to you until all the actors are assembled so you don't have to be so cautious ! We even have sponge cakes and clotted cream and raspberry jam which we received from the main house yesterday ~ " Break added as I pleaded with Yuon once more, half salivating at the thought of a mound of food waiting in the room.

" ... Yuon, please ... "

" Fine. But if you take any aggressive action against Ai I'll make sure that you would wish you were never born ! " Yuon declared as Break only smiled before he motioned for us to follow him.

-----------------

" So ? Explain yourself. "

" There isn't a need to be in a rush ! I already know, the fact that you're a Chain though since you haven't attacked, it must mean that you've no intention to harm anyone even though you've come into this world, " Break defended his stand as he swallowed an entire scone and flushed it down with a cup of tea which he finished in a single gulp. After having turned countless corners and gone down the various corridors, we finally arrived at the greenhouse where a long table had been laid out, upon which plates after plates of untouched dessert were stacked on trays and trolley carts, as though we were already expected long before we came.