I do not own Final Fantasy VII...though...I wish I at least owned Sephiroth. And as always...REVIEWS!


The Angel's Queen

Chapter VI: First Morning

Tifa was awash with relief when she flipped on the light of her house. It was just as she'd left it a week prior; an unmade bed, filthy dishes in the sink. She dropped her suitcases off at her closet, not bothering to unpack. Instead she fell in a heap upon her bed. It was nice to be home and to be completely alone. It was dark as hell outside and still cold; the heat was out as she recalled. She didn't even bother to undress, instead just went straight to sleep.

Sephiroth was so outraged by the time he finally chased Tifa back to 7th Heaven, that "outraged" was clearly an understatement. If a god to could be tired, Sephiroth was. He'd flown non-stop until he'd made it to her house. Across land and sea, he'd flown, hunting her diligently. And now he was perched upon her windowsill, gazing upon her still form. She lay motionless, completely oblivious to him. Sephiroth stepped to the floor, quietly strode over to her, and watched her as she slept. All the fury that had filled him, cooled at the very sight of her. She had a power over him that he could not fathom. He sat down beside her, watching her. How he'd longed to finally have her alone.

She stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Sephiroth did not panic at her movement, Tifa looked up at him, though she did not really see him, then she just rolled over and returned to sleep. With quick, silent movements, Sephiroth gathered her in his arms. He relished the feeling of holding her against his chest. With no further ado, Sephiroth leapt out the window.

Tifa slept so soundly all the way back to Sephiroth's manor. She did not stir, she did not wake. His body warmed her, protected her. As soon as he reached the manor, he slid in through the window and placed her upon the bed. With ghostly hands he undressed her. Her nude figure upon the bed was such a tempting sight; he wished to ravish her then and there. With much restraint, he slid a nightgown over her head. He tucked her in under the sheets. As she lay there, Sephiroth continued to watch her a little longer. She was truly magnificent to him, though he couldn't quite understand why. At length, he bent and kissed her upon her forehead.

Sephiroth shut the window to keep the snowy air from smothering her, and then headed for the bedroom door. As he opened the door, he turned back to her. "Goodnight, my darling princess."

Tifa woke to intense warmth and the shining sun on her face. She rolled over on the soft sheets and snuggled deeper into her bed. For a brief moment, she'd completely forgotten the night before, thinking she was still in Costa Del Sol with Yuffie. But then the unusual softness of the sheets puzzled her and the smell of tea and cake wafted into her nose. Then there was the smell of burning wood, the sound of a crackling fire. Opening her eyes, Tifa found herself staring at a lit fireplace. She waited for a moment to let it register. Beside her on the nightstand sat a silver tray of sweet delicacies. She closed her eyes once more, but snapped them open again in surprise. She sat bolt-upright. What was this place? The room was the most lavish place she'd ever seen. The walls were cream and bordered in gold, the dressing on the large canopy bed were sapphire blue and gold brocade. A marble fireplace took up a corner and a large, beautiful cherry finished vanity table took up another. She slid out of the bed and looked all around. The vaulted ceiling only added to the size of the room, and the massive windows only helped. The windows were draped in sapphire and drawn back to allow natural light to enter the room. The floor was hardwood, though warm due to the fire. It was like she'd died and gone to heaven. The room was beautiful and she couldn't believe she was there. However, alarm soon set in when she realized that not only was she in a strange place, she was wearing strange clothes. Her fear rose higher when she noticed of all things, she was wearing the Grecian dress from her dream, only it was black and not green. She shuddered at the thought that someone had changed her clothes; she knew she was not wearing any underwear either and that didn't do at all to ease her nerves. She felt her stomach jumping inside her and she couldn't contain it anymore and rushed into the open bathroom to christen the pure white toilet.

After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Tifa relaxed against the wall. She grabbed a towel from the folded pile beside the claw foot tub and wiped her mouth clean. She looked down with dizzy eyes, wondering if she was a mess, thankfully, she didn't get any on her clothes. With another deep breath, Tifa rose from the floor and returned to sit on the side of her bed. She didn't sense any danger, and she didn't feel sore and there were no visible bruises. So she guessed she was alright. Tifa turned to the silver tray beside her and found the cup of tea still steaming. Her stomach gurgled and she realized just how hungry she was now. She took the cup and breathed it in. It smelled spicy and savory. She wasn't sure if she should ingest any of these things, but she figured if anyone wanted to kill her, it would have been done already. So without anymore ado, she sipped the tea and was blown away by the amazing flavor. It was like cinnamon and sugar, with the strength of something English. She grabbed one of the pastries; an apple filled tart of some kind, and was delighted by it as well. In no time at all, her breakfast was devoured and she was lying upon her bed, full and content.

Tifa stared up at the canopy over her. She began to think about her situation. Alright, so what if she was in a strange place wearing strange clothes? She was in a luxurious palace it seemed, wearing real silk, in warmth, and someone – she didn't really care who – served her the most delicious breakfast she'd ever tasted. It's not like she was in a dungeon or anything, so why try to view it in a negative light? She wished someone would rescue her, right? And it seemed she got her wish. But what now? She got up and opened the window, the sun was shining brightly and the cool air blew inside. She first saw mountains, but as soon as she looked downward, she was met with a lush garden perfectly groomed and blooming with roses. It was the garden from her dream.

"Did I have a premonition?" She shook her head and shut the window. "Well, it's a bit cold to go outside, so I guess I'll look around the house." She went to the door and poked her head out into the hall. After seeing that the coast was clear, she stepped out and turned down the hall, eying the beautiful details along the walls. After just a few short feet, she found herself on a gallery facing down at the foyer where the front door was. It was absurdly ostentatious. The walls looked as if they were made of marble and trimmed in gilded wood. An enormous crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, extending downward to hang just between the twin staircases. She'd never seen this place before, yet she was certain she had. It was like a memory from long, long ago. She continued down the stairs and found the dining room equally as extravagant. The kitchen however was a little more humble. It had only plain white walls and wooden details. As she continued from room to room, Tifa found herself smiling brightly, almost skipping through the halls.

From the shadow's Sephiroth kept an eye on her. Tifa showed no signs of trying to leave the house, so he relaxed and withdrew to his library. He had no business to attend to, but he thought she should first become accustomed to her new home. For the first time in a long time, Sephiroth had no intention of striking fear into her heart. He knew she'd know him just as well as he knew her, which is why he was unsure of how to approach her.

"Mother, how do I make her come to me?"

"Make her come to you? You should just take her." Only this time Jenova's voice was not in his head. She was literally in the same room with him, sitting in a chair nearby.

Jenova had managed to rejuvenate and regenerate her body to what it had been. The use of mako helped considerably, and it was easier once Sephiroth had returned her head to her. Now she sat there, nude as she preferred to be, leaning on one arm with her leg crossed over the other.

"I cannot, Mother." Sephiroth turned toward her. "I can't do anything to harm her."

"Perhaps you've weakened." She grinned.

"I have not…" He grit his teeth and held back the sudden surge of rage in him. "…but she fuels something inside of me that I cannot understand. Now tell me…what does a woman want?"

Jenova sighed. She closed her eyes and stood. She went to her son's side and put her arm about his shoulders.

"A woman…wants to be spoiled…for lack of a better word…." She whispered in his ear. "Romance her…dote upon her…give her everything…make her feel indebted to you…make her feel like she owes herself to you."

"That will work?"

"Yes…my son…" Jenova turned him to face her; she gripped his arms and closed the distance between them. "But please…don't forget about your dear mother…"

Sephiroth backed away from her and went to his desk. He pulled out some paper and began to pen a letter to Tifa.

"You're writing to her?" Jenova wanted to laugh.

"Yes. I don't know how to convey what I feel in words, but if I write them down, it would be easier."

Jenova just sighed with slight annoyance. A letter? Surely her brilliant minded son could come up with something better than that! But she let him be. Sooner or later, he'd come to his senses and see that the only woman meant to be in his life was his mother. Jenova tossed her silver hair over her shoulder and left the room.


Barret moseyed over to the phone, in no hurry to answer it. But he did as was met the frantic voice of Yuffie.

"Barret? Barret!" She cried from the other end.

"What's goin' on?" He wasn't really that worried; Yuffie often called sounding like she was dying. He wondered why she just didn't have her parents help. "Whatcha need now?"

"Barret! It's Tifa!"

"What?" Now Barret was worried.

"Tifa's gone!"

"Wha-what do ya mean, gone?"

Yuffie told Barret that she'd seen Sephiroth in Costa Del Sol and that he was looking for Tifa. She then mentioned that Tifa had left her phone at the inn and she wasn't picking up at 7th Heaven.

"I'm really worried, instead of going home I followed Tifa back to Midgar, but when I got to the bar, she was gone."

"Did you wait to see if she just went out?" Barret tried to sound cool, but really his heart was thundering in his chest. Perhaps she was fine and just went to the grocery store or something…yeah…that was it…she'd be back, right?

"I thought that…so I waited around to see if she'd come back, but I've been here for hours!"

"And you said that Sephiroth was lookin' for her?"

"Yeah, but she'd left before he showed up…but what if he…"

"You stay right there, Yuffie, I'm comin'." Barret hung up the phone. "Marlene!"

Barret was reluctant to bring Marlene with him on such a mission, but he also didn't want her to stay by herself.