Part One: The Early Years

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

Five Years Earlier

The sun's rays shone through the cracks in the church and it was her usual morning routine to admire them for some time before she attended to the flowers. But today she wouldn't be doing that. In fact the rays of light seemed to matter little. No one ever came here save for the little boy she occasionally played with in the slums. And of course there was that flirtatious soldier that had fallen through her roof some days ago. She had wondered when he would return.

But that brought her back to the current problem at hand. What was she supposed to say? She hadn't expected anyone would be here let alone the General of Shinra himself. Fear began to wrap itself around her heart and squeeze it. Had the Turks decided her time was up and that she was to be taken in? Had they sent a soldier operative to do the dirty task instead?

"U-um can I help you?" She inwardly winced at that. It was almost as bad as saying nothing at all. There was a brief awkward silence as he considered her, but she was relieved when he was the one to break the silence. "Do you come here often?" It was a question out of the blue and completely odd considering the circumstances, but natural to ask. Feeling a little more sure of herself seeing as there was no malice in his voice, she replied. "Yeah all the time. I'm sorry if I startled you in some way. No one ever really comes here except me."

His face was impassive and she couldn't read anything off it, but he wasn't doing anything intimidating. "I see," he said quietly and started walking towards her. Alarmed she backed away earning her an inquisitive stare and a raised brow. When she didn't say anything and only stared at him warily, he seemed to get the picture. "I was only leaving," he offered wondering if that would contain her fears because right now she looked as if he was going to violate her in some way.

It did and she stammered. "Oh," she said nonchalantly feeling quite foolish and removed herself from his path. But he didn't leave for he was much intrigued by her behaviour and her pretty green eyes. There seemed to be something out-worldly about them. Her eyes appeared to shine with wisdom, but her demeanour, youth and obvious insecurities wiped all that apparent wisdom away.

"Is it dangerous around here?" He asked her casually; wondering if that would explain her strange behaviour. The girl before him swallowed hard but she was definitely bearing in mind his question. "Well as dangerous as the slums come I'm sure, but everything is peaceful in the church," she explained feeling wary. Her eyes remained politely downcast. Either from fear or awe, he couldn't tell. Maybe it was both.

He couldn't help but notice the way she nervously fumbled with her fingers. For what reason was she scared? He was well aware people in Midgar knew of his power and what he was capable of, but most of it constituted as hero worship and awe. Not this sort of nervous fear the girl was taking great lengths to conceal. "I see," was his reply and he turned to leave not wanting to bother her further.

Wordlessly she watched him go, but some strange fragment of her didn't want to part on such awkward terms, never mind that he was a high ranking Shinra official and one that chilled her to her very bones. "Um…have a nice day I guess. If you ever want to come here to be alone again I am sure evening or night would be a good time. No one is usually here then," she offered in the steadiest voice she could.

He stopped dead in his tracks and Aeris held her breath wondering if she had said the wrong thing. But what she got was something she least expected.

A smile

A weak one at that, but it was better than nothing. She had not expected him to smile. "Thank you for the insight. I will consider it. Good day Miss…?"

Gods, he was asking her name!

She gulped not sure what to call the feelings she felt inside of her. Flattery maybe. Amazement?

"Aeris," she said quietly. "My name is Aeris. It was nice to meet you."

He turned away and continued walking. "It was nice to meet you too…Aeris." He muttered back although it sounded like he was saying her name more to himself than to her.

It was the start of a seemingly beautiful relationship.

While the thought of the General coming to her church was something that brought up mixed feelings within her, she didn't see him again for the rest of the week. What did she expect? Simpering to herself and banishing him from her thoughts, she continued about her daily routine and it didn't take long for her to forget him.

She was good at things like that. It helped her focus on the task at hand and enjoy the simplicity the slum life had to offer her. It made it easier to block out what was really at stake. The inevitable day Shinra would come for her; the very day she promised herself that she would die.

Humming to herself and tending to the flowers, Aeris lost herself in thought unaware of the figure a respectable distance away watching her with an unreadable expression. However being the daughter of the Cetra, Aeris was more aware of her surroundings than regular people and though still lost in her own bliss, it didn't take long for her to realize she was not alone.

Smiling to herself dryly, she didn't bother to look over her shoulder to check if there was something lurking in the shadows. Maybe it was one of the Turks although they normally respected her proximity. Deciding not to be too bothered by it, she watered the last of the plants and gathered her things to leave. She would be back in the afternoon anyway and leave by evening.

"Are you going home alone?" His voice made her stop dead in her tracks and her head turned to the side to see the General of Shinra appraising her with mild interest. His arms were crossed though with a posture that suggested he was quite amused by something. Surprised that he was here and oddly flattered that he had come (not that she had really expected him to), she gave him a kind smile.

"It is good to see you General. Yes I was heading home actually and 'alone' as you put it." His eyes ran her up and down in deep consideration and an awkward silence passed through. "It's not very safe," he commented. She stared at him blankly feeling a bit defensive over his aloof statement. However she refused to let it bother her. Perhaps it was his way of making conversation. Why else was he here?

"No it isn't," she agreed turning her body towards him. "But I manage. What else can I do?" She received a 'hmph' in response and he turned to leave, walking towards the flowers. "I thought you would have come at night time. Like I said I am usually here during the day…"

He didn't turn back to her. "That's nice," was his torrid response. Aeris recoiled into herself and bit her lip. Why was he being so cold? It wasn't as if he was as kind on their first meeting, but he wasn't so rude and he had even smiled at her. A genuine one as far as she believed. Twiddling her fingers for a bit and feeling a little embarrassed, she turned away sadly. "H-have a nice day," she said and promptly left.

She walked home feeling a little sad, but not exactly sure why. She didn't know him, it was clear he didn't want to know her and not only that he was a high ranking officer from the upper plate. She supposed she was too trashy and low for him to make an acquaintance. Though she had been excited that he had visited her church again. I hardly get any visitors. No friends. That was the life she was subjected to for being different. She couldn't function anywhere socially without people giving her peculiar looks so she sought solitude in the church.

She had this uncanny habit of muttering to herself when really she was talking to the Planet. She could fall into hypnosis by simply becoming one with its tune. It had greatly affected her social life when she was young not to mention that she hadn't come into contact with other children until she was eight. She had been locked up for much of her early life. The memories served well to ruin her mood and make it worse than it already was.

Still though…I wonder what he thinks of the flowers her thoughts wandering over to Sephiroth again.

"You really should not be walking around by yourself. Especially around here," a dry and sardonic voice interrupted. Speak of the devil. Startled and surprised, Aeris turned her gaze towards the silver haired menace in disbelief. He had followed her. But why?

Realizing her mouth was agape like an idiot, she quickly shut it and shyly looked down. "I-I…really it's no trouble. I walk this way all the time," she reasoned. He looked at her sceptically, but offered no comment on the matter. What she got instead was something quite different. "I apologize," he said to her quietly making her head snap right up in bewilderment. His gaze was soft and his voice was tender. Not like he was in the church. "For what?" She replied.

He smiled at her wryly. "My behaviour back there. It upset you. I was a bit…abrupt." Aeris licked her lips and let out a deep breathe. She didn't really know what to say. "O-oh were you? I didn't notice," she offered lamely and regretted the words the instant they left her mouth. The raised brow was enough to tell her he had seen right through it, but she was only trying to be polite. Not knowing what else to do, she offered him a kind smile.

"Really it's nothing," she conceded hoping the questioning stare would dissipate. It did and Aeris mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Still smiling at him and wanting to break the awkward moment, she asked him if he liked the church. "It's falling apart," he said sullenly not at all inclined to be baited by her optimism.

"Well some would say it's more antique. Besides the inside is quite nice with the stain glass windows and of course the flowers," she offered happily. Although he didn't smile he seemed on the verge of cracking one. If anything he seemed amused by her love for the place. "You are heading home I presume?" Aeris hesitated a moment. She felt wary even though his inquisition was polite and the fact that he was a high ranking Shinra official. Still she was taught to be cautious of anything in remote connection to the place. "Yes," she said eventually with her eyes sweeping over his well-proportioned features. He was quite attractive. Very much so.

Of course she knew plenty of women swooned over him and had various fan clubs all around the world, but she had never paid particular attention to the matter or even soldiers in general. Her mother couldn't stand it after Aeris had told her all those years ago that her husband had died in the war. However her thoughts were brought back to reality when Sephiroth interrupted her thoughts.

"Then would you allow me to escort you home? There have been reports of monsters in the area and members of soldier are still trying to get a hold of the situation." Stunned, she took a few moments to answer. Her first instinct was to politely refuse and maintain her stance of independence. She wasn't as weak as many people thought she was and many men had wanted to escort her before (most likely as a reward to get into her panties), but this was the General of Shinra. This was Sephiroth.

How could she refuse? She brightened the smile on her lips and nodded. "That would be nice General," she said sweetly feeling a little shy and awkward at the situation. Sephiroth smiled back, but again he was amused. "Just call me Sephiroth." And so she walked beside him feeling very conscious of how much shorter she was than him and the fact that people were staring.

"I hope this doesn't too rude or anything, but I would have thought the General of Shinra would be so busy with missions and everything." She gritted her teeth at her own words. She seemed to be saying the wrong thing again. It was as if she had sugar coated the words you are so high and mighty. What are you doing walking amongst people like us? We don't want you. We don't need you. We can fend for ourselves as we always have and you sir are unwelcome. She inwardly cringed and didn't dare look at him to read his expression.

"Even someone like myself gets a little free time now and then," was the toneless reply. He didn't seem offended, but she was sure he had carefully schooled whatever reservations he felt about her statement. She felt bad. "I see," she said and gulped air. She turned a corner and he followed although he maintained his stance right beside her. She took the chance to look up at him again and then at his hair. It was so long. So long and shiny and she was sure it was soft too. However he caught her looking at him and again came the questioning gaze. Blushing she looked away.

"Did you grow the flowers down in the church Miss Aeris?" He asked her realizing how uncomfortable she felt. He wasn't sure if it was because of his intimidating presence or the fact that his sword was strapped to his waist. Tentatively she answered him. "Well not exactly. They were growing on their own, but I helped nurture them by tilling the soil and watering them daily. I planted some outside my house too. Helps since some sunlight seeps through the Plate where I live." There was sadness in her voice, but he didn't question it. It was easy to guess why.

The air in the slums was putrid and suffocating. Nothing beautiful about it except for a few things, like the flowers-and her. She babbled on about her flowers too. Probably from the onset of being nervous, but through it all he was able to properly assess her. Wearing a pretty green dress to match her ethereal eyes, he admired how flawless and creamy her skin was. In fact it was very pale, but that was understandable considering she rarely spent much time in the sun. Her light brown hair was twisted in a low French braid too. She was a cute kid and would probably be very beautiful when she grew a little older.

Dimly he wondered how old she was, but felt it was too imprudent to ask. Instead he opted for something more sly. "So what is it that you do Miss Aeris?" He asked realizing she had finished going on about her flowers. Looking relieved that he had decided to ask her something, she gladly told him. It seemed she was starting to get comfortable after all.

"Well nothing at the moment, but I was thinking of getting a job. It would be help out my mother and all." He barely contained the thin line that formed over his lips. If she was under fifteen he would be overly compelled to stab himself in the foot. "You live with your mother?" He asked quietly and she nodded.

"Don't get me wrong. I would like to be more independent and have my own place, but I can't leave her and can't do much when I am basically penniless," she said with a cheerful laugh. He gave her an apathetic glance as acknowledgement and shifted the conversation. "Don't you want to advance your studies?"

She looked at him and gave him a wan smile. "I would," she mumbled and paused as if to choose her next words very carefully. "But what I want to do requires a lot of money and would be very hard to manage. Though there are other options. Perhaps doing childcare. They pay you to do your training so that seems like a good way to go."

He smiled at her. She was quite talkative and very open. Too trusting though, but he supposed the situation didn't matter since she was talking to a Shinra official. There was no need to contain secrets and they were just talking about work. However he understood. He understood all too well. People in the slums didn't have much of a chance for higher education and very few got out on scholarships if they went to school or they were fortunate enough to have a benefactor. It was just the way things worked down here.

"You like children?" He asked sardonically as he considered the girl. She definitely looked sweet and maternal enough. She chuckled at his comment and clasped her hands behind her back. "Well I like other people's children for a few hours a day. That I can handle." He nodded in response and they turned down to a wider street where the area was much more cleaner, the houses were better and there was extra sunlight. At least she didn't appear to be disadvantaged as he thought.

"Um…so…" she trailed off not knowing what to say. He guessed it was awkward for her to ask about his career as a form of small talk and he was sympathetic. "Yes I have always wanted to be a soldier," he offered sparing her the self-conscious moment.

"Oh," she muttered suddenly out of questions. They turned to the last house on the street with its own large garden of flowers at the side. "You grew these? I didn't think Midgar provided adequate soil. The church was surprising enough." Smiling idly, she ran her fingers through her bangs. "I managed." He nodded again and stared off into the distance. Shifting uncomfortably, Aeris decided to break the silence. "Well I am home now. Thanks for escorting me General. It was very kind of you." His eyes returned to her gentle glowing face and again to the ethereal eyes. She had such beautiful eyes.

"Sephiroth," he returned politely and softened his gaze. She blushed and lowered hers. "Sephiroth then," she repeated in nothing but a whisper and then turned away. Sephiroth waited until the door was closed before he finally came to his senses. He did not know what compelled him to follow the girl least of all offer to escort her home.

But he was not oblivious to the bizarre workings of his body. There was something out-worldly about her. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he was drawn to her for some reason. He didn't know why. Strangely enough he had this odd sense of familiarity. However in the end he brushed it off as unimportant and walked away.

He had come to the church for some solace hearing about some natural flora that grew there. He never suspected the girl was the one that helped them grow. All things considered though, he was not going to be showing up here any time soon. He had no time or patience for flowers or overly cheerful optimistic little girls. The very enigma of it bothered him and though he was man who loved to solve puzzles, he thought it was best to leave this one be.