This is my newest story -a Botan/Yusuke ficclet based on the movie 'Anastasia'. It has some similarities, but it's also very different. It's obviously AU, but there shouldn't be too many of my own charaters mixed in...

Dedication: to 'Botan Urameshi' because I told her early on in Dreaming in Reality that I would write a Botan/Yusuke fic for her! Here is is girl!

Disclaimer: I don't own Anastasia or Yu Yu Hakusho... duh.

Princess of the Spirit World

The moon was full, and its light spilled over the large palace that looked nearly golden in the lights that were not the moon cast upon it. It shone brightly, and many people were coming in carriages to the beautiful building. A few people even flew on things such as oars, or carpets, or any other big thing that could possibly fly.

It was a big event. The new King would be crowned that night, so his family was having a ball. Everyone was invited to the cordial event, but none were as bright as the new king's daughter, Botan.

She was only five at the time, still bustling with energy. She ran to and fro among all the visitors, beaming happily from ear to ear as the people complimented her dress, or her hair, etc. It was only when her grandmother called her over that she calmed down a bit.

"Come here, my dear, I have a present to give to you." She said. Botan smiled happily and settled beside her grandmother.

"What is it; please, tell me what it is!"

"Why don't I just give it to you now?" the woman smiled kindly as she pulled something out of her purse. It was round, and had four legs on which to stand. It was encrusted in gold, with a dark green filling in the middle.

"What is it, grandmother?"

"It's a music box, lovely." And she handed it to Botan. The little girl struggled for a moment to pry the music box open, but found that it was stuck.

"I can't open it, grandmother!" she cried, "That's a mean trick!"

"My dear, the key is around your very neck." The woman pointed to the small necklace hanging from Botan's neck, and smiled as she watched the child open the locket she had gotten as a present last year.

"Like this, grandmother?" Botan showed her how she was holding the key and the music box, and, upon receiving a nod, she opened the box by pressing her opened locket into the seal for it.

The lid popped open, and a soothing melody filled the air around them.

"It's our song!" Botan cried happily, her eyes alight with enthusiasm. Her grandmother laughed and nodded, as they began to sing along with the music box.

"Far away, long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Once Upon A December…"

Brown eyes looked upon the scene, watching from behind the chair the old woman sat in. He was just a worker in the kitchens, but who's to say he can't look to see how many people were there?

If only that was the case; he was only watching the blue-haired girl and the older woman as they sang together.

"Yusuke!" a sharp cry rang from behind him. "Yusuke, you brat! Get back to work!" Unwillingly, he was ripped from the door he had been peeking out of, and thrown back into the kitchen.

"And a song
Someone sings
Once upon a December."

As the song came to a close, the blue-haired child closed the music box, and took it in her hands. She smiled brightly at her grandmother.

"Oh, thank you, grandmother!" Botan cried, launching herself into the woman's arms.

The moment was cut short, however, by the sudden darkness that wrapped around them.

"The electricity!"

"I can't see!"

"Someone, turn the lights back on!"

The lights flickered –once, twice; and then came on completely. The dark man standing in the center of the room quickly broke the calm of the returning light as he laughed darkly.

The people around him moved away as fast as they could, leaving a clear circle around him. He glared up, staring straight at Koenma.

"I told you I'd be free one day, and that I'd come back for you." He said loudly. A spark of green came off his right hand, followed by many others. "Today is my revenge for all those years I was trapped in that hell-hole you call prison!"

The floor around him was covered in those green sparks, and Botan was horrified to find that they began to move. A scream tore through the open room, and then everyone began running away. Botan only had enough time to see the sparks morph into some sort of small demonic imp before her grandmother pulled her along towards the kitchens.

Botan could barely keep up with her, but she tried with all her might. Her grandmother was fast, and Botan's short legs were struggling to keep up.

"Get everyone out of the kitchens!" she told the head chef as they passed him. Briefly, he nodded, before turning to tell everyone to clear out. A black blur ran past him, following the path that the royal family had taken.

"Yusuke!" he shouted at the blur. Then he sighed, and ordered everyone else out of the kitchens. Just in time, for the green imps began squeezing through the cracks in the doors. The people didn't need to be told twice.

Vaguely, Botan realized what her grandmother was doing –she was going to the train station located at the back of the palace. Many people had arrived that way, and the train had to remain there to get them back home.

Sure enough, the train was still there, and her grandmother ushered her onto it quickly. There were already others rushing on as well, and the conductor looked slightly overwhelmed.

"Sir, I order you to start this train. We are no longer safe here." The woman told him fiercely.

"Y-yes, milady." He stuttered, before signaling the take-off of the train.

"Botan, get up to the engine room." Her grandmother told her. "Quickly!" she added. The demons were coming out of the palace, and rapidly approached the train.

Botan tore through the train, moving farther and farther away from her grandmother that she thought was behind her. As she got to the last compartment before the engine, she realized her grandmother was nowhere to be found.

"Grandmother!" she cried helplessly.

"Stop shouting or they'll get us both!" a voice sounded from the door. A boy stood, closing the door, and leaning against it. He had brown eyes that stared at her, and black hair as well.

"Who are you?" she asked him, overcoming her panic for a moment.

"Never mind that; they're coming!" he told her, running from the door. He grabbed her hand and brought her to the far wall. Quickly, he shoved away a large painting that covered from ceiling to floor and revealed a latch. He unlocked the hidden doorway and quickly shoved the small princess inside.

"Stay safe." He told her, before shutting the door and making her world go black. She listened intently, too afraid to move, to the sounds outside the door. She felt the train lurch to a start, and continue to move along the tracks.

And then she heard the sound of tearing metal –a horrid, screeching sound that had her covering her ears in pain. Then, an explosion from a distance –and, finally, silence.

She kicked open the portal she had been pushed through, and tumbled out of her small chamber. She looked around frantically, searching for anyone. The door had been ripped off of the hinges, and instead there was a large gap where the door had been. There was nothing else after it –her train cart was the only one still attached to the engine.

There was no one else with her.

With tears streaming down her face, she curled up into a ball and closed her eyes to the world, allowing the train to take her away from the world she once knew, and into an unknown place. She didn't even notice that somewhere along the way, she had lost her new music box.

So, there you go! This story will (hopefully) only have five parts -that's what I'm planning for, anyway... it's not completely written yet, but it's getting there.

Please; Read and Review!!!