Ok so, first ever story I've ever published (not written lol). The idea came to me in a dream I had after watching the show and I finally summoned the balls to post. Will try to post a new chapter every week but I'm in grad school and I work full time so… anyways, yea. Please R&R! Hope you like it!

Chapter 1

"Maedh!"

"It's Lily." It came out as a whisper, but that comment still got her ears boxed. After hundreds of years Rowena still had the senses of a fox.

"You ungrateful wretch!"

Hag Lily thought. She kept that to herself, though. Rowena was in a thunderous mood.

"Sorry, Mother."

"Pray tell, why my supplies of mugwort and devil's shoestring and cat bones are low?" Rowena's eyes smoldered with barely concealed rage. No. This would not end well for her.

"I-I- You asked me to scrub the floor yesterday and the day before that you locked me in the store room for – "

"I did not ask for excuses Maedh! What are your duties?"

"To clean and cook and assist in spells and -"

"And keep my supplies full! Now I canna complete this hex!"

"I'm sorry….I-"

"Go! Get out Get out!"

Maedh-no she refused to call herself that-dodged the various glass bottles thrown at her and ran out of the abandoned warehouse, neglecting her coat in her rush.

She hunched against the sheet of rain coming down regretting immediately her haste, and hurried about the city to gather the various ingredients Rowena required. Because of her wanted nature, and the fact that she stood out like a sore thumb in the gowns she refused to give up and red hair she cultivated because of her vanity, Rowena was unable to leave the warehouse most days, at least during the day. That left Lily to be errand-boy. The spell was simple, thankfully, and she wasn't being transmuted or teleported with dark magic to gather what was needed. It always left her with a migraine and a lingering desire for licorice. Today, all she needed was a little money and the ability to be meek and invisible; a talent that came naturally after years under Rowena. She also had a localized transportation amulet and a finder spell just in case. She learned the hard way Rowena did not care for excuses, however valid they might be, and to not return empty-handed when sent on an errand.

She gathered the various herbs from a naturopathic store and a New Age center respectively and then set out to find the bones. Technically, she could find and kill the cat herself, but she had no stomach for death of any kind. It had been harder and harder to hide this from Rowena, however, who used to have grand plans for her. But, as she informed Lily often, she was turning out to be quite the disappointment. Each day she shirked practicing actual dark magic was another day of beatings and dark closets and cages. Still, she'd rather scrub the floor until her fingers bled or catch pneumonia running errands than actually practice the heavy magic Rowena was so skilled at. Magic was all she had known for most of her life, but refusing a fate and a lifestyle thrust upon her was a modicum of control she could cling to in a whirlwind life of subservience and pain.

She was lost in her musings when all of a sudden the world tilted on its axis. She was momentarily disoriented, and her head meeting the pavement so rapidly made the ringing in her ears that had never quite dissipated from earlier come back at full volume. She felt disconnected from her body, as if she was floating. She was vaguely aware of someone shouting at her, hands rolling her over, pinning her to the wet pavement. She struggled weakly, her vision too blurred to see her assailant and her body too weak to do anything useful against the vice grip. Starvation and abuse tend to do that. The thought came from somewhere far away as she tried to clear her vision and reconnect her head with her body.

Slowly her vision returned and was filled with crystal-cut green.

"Where is the Codex? Talk!" The man behind the stormy eyes was shouting at her, shaking her roughly by the shoulders to punctuate his words, and she realized absentmindedly that he held a wicked knife against her throat.

"Dean, give her a minute. She looks like she's in shock" A second figure came into focus, towering over both her and her assailant, his long hair casting shadows on his strong chin. She focused her eyes on his sternum, rather than drown in the cold sea of green that was too close to her.

"No, Sammy." his voice was gravel and danger. She winced, flinching away from it. "I'm done waiting. With Charlie-"

He struggled, "I'm not feeling all that inclined to play nice."

"Hu-" Lily's voice came out a cross between a whimper and a cough. "Who are you?" She tried again. The man called Dean shook her.

"Uh-uh. You're not asking the questions, witch," he leaned in; "Where is the Codex. Where is Rowena?" At the mention of Mother, all of a sudden all of Lily's deadened senses came rushing back. The pain in her ears, the knife at her throat and the trickle of blood there, the cold, rough pavement at her back, the banging in her skull, her utter exhaustion and above all fear; fear of Rowena's displeasure with her at being caught and fear of the bear of a man kneeling above her with the crystal-cold eyes and tense, chiseled jaw that was clenched tight with anger. Her hands were trapped, so she had no defense against the tears that flooded out of her, but she squeezed her eyes shut against the scene above her and tried to prepare herself for death.

"Great, Dean. You're getting real far with that tactic." Dean said nothing in return but just growled in exasperation and stood up. At the sudden loss of the oven above her, Lily shivered and scrunched her body back until she hit the brick building behind her. It wasn't far enough. She warily regarded her assailants, who were currently between her and the way out of the alley.

The men muttered together before the angry one turned and stalked towards her. Lily thought about fighting back or screaming, but, after years with Rowena, all that escaped her was a whimper. She flinched away from the man and squeezed her eyes shut. She was roughly and suddenly hauled to her feet by her tangled mess of ebony hair, causing her to cry out in pain. She was back in the paralyzing hazel gaze of the bear.

"She's coming with us. My…stuff is at the bunker."

"Dean no, she's just-"

"She's a witch, Sam.

"She's still human!"

"Hardly," Dean snorted. "None of these dirty witches are, not once they've touched dark magic. Hell, she's 300 years old for all you know. She's in kahoots with that red-headed she-devil. And we need that information."

The conversation continued heatedly while Lily dangled on her toes, held too high by her hair. They were looking for Rowena, that much she had gathered, and something she had never heard of called a Code-Box. There were mentions of killing things, and the one named Sam was concerned about Dean. Then back to Rowena, more anger, Dean really hated witches. But I'm not a witch she wanted to say. She was suddenly resolved.

"Please" she managed. They stopped talking and looked at her. "I-I-I" she paused to still her nervous stutter. "I'll take you to the warehouse" Her voice was a whisper and her eyes searched for any target other than the two massive men that literally held her life in their hands."I don't do magic, but Rowena is my- I'm her- acolyte…against my will!" she added when Dean's glare intensified and his hand in her hair tightened. "…and I can take you to her. But, please, she will kill me if-"

"ENOUGH!" roared Dean. He pulled her closer to him, her feet now dangling completely because of their height difference.

"Let me make this clear. You will die. I am going to kill you because you're a monster and I hunt monsters. If you're a good little witch and cooperate I might give you a quick death. But you are going to die – No Sam let me finish – either way." Lily's eyes filled with tears and she missed Sam's exasperated glare at Dean. Lily was terrified, but she knew he was right. Even if they didn't kill her, Rowena certainly would for getting caught. She had beaten the importance of discretion into Lily, and in no uncertain words impressed upon her the consequences of jeopardizing her very mysterious task. And if Lily was honest, she would rather die by these strangers' hand than by Rowena's cruel one. She dropped her shoulders in defeat and nodded, head down.

"Good girl. Now. Take us to that ginger bitch."