Demetrius frowned as he stroked Anne's hair out of her face, looking at the beads of sweat that collected on his fingertips as he did so.

"How did this happen?" he asked "Did he curse you or something?"

"No," Anne shook her head "It happens when I draw blood for spells without my knife."

She lifted her knife in her hands slightly and Demetrius nodded, wiping his fingers on the pillow.

"How did you escape?" she asked.

"Oh, window," Demetrius nodded as he placed a hand on her forehead "Just a sec. Larada…Akosile…"

Anne let out a short gasp when a soothing light engulfed her vision and the fever was gone. She winced slightly when something soothing and tingling went up and down under her eye but she didn't focus too much on it. She sat up, looking at the man with wide eyes, knife clutched to her chest.

"You know magic," she said.

"Yeah but I don't know how to inflict that healing spell on myself," Demetrius winced and held his bleeding shoulder.

"Oh, lie down!" Anne said as she jumped out of bed and scurried over to her vanity.

Demetrius lay down on the bed as she looked through her drawers, pulling out the bottle of healing oil that she carried.

"Damn, I need to remember to make some more soon," she muttered as she wandered back over "Here, there should be enough in here, I'll just…"

Demetrius lay back as she opened his shirt so she could see the wound directly. He hissed softly as the amber liquid dripped onto his cut and the skin began healing over. Anne carefully traced the area where the cut used to be to make sure it had worked and froze when Demetrius gently took her wrist and smiled up at her.

"You're like my angel," he said as he pressed a small kiss to her fingertips "Such a beautiful maiden who comes to my aid and heals me. How wonderful."

Anne's demeanour turned cold in a split second as she yanked her wrist out of his grip.

"Flattery gets you nowhere," she said and got up from the bed, corking her bottle.

"So cold," Demetrius sighed as he sat up, smirking at her "I expected you to be a blushing bride rather than an ice princess."

"Why have you come here?" Anne asked tiredly as she placed the bottle back on her vanity.

Demetrius flicked some hair out of his eyes, making sure to square his shoulders to bare his chest.

"What are you doing here?" he asked smoothly.

"I asked first," Anne hissed venomously.

Rosso examined Anne's sickened look at Demetrius and began wondering why his charm wasn't working on her. Did she have a lover in her hometown? Was Demetrius simply not her type? Or maybe perhaps she wasn't interested in men? Studying the Wiccan's face further, Rosso came to the quick conclusion that she most certainly wasn't interested, given her looks of disgust. Her heart leapt briefly as she smirked and contacted Demetrius.

'Make sure she knows who he is.'

"Yeah but ladies first, answer my question," Demetrius shrugged whilst giving Anne another dashing smile.

"I swear by my ancestors, I will murder you," Anne said as she lifted her dagger.

"Aw, come on! I just…"

Demetrius paused for a moment, looking out of the window where it was raining outside and blinked.

"How much do you know about the king of this castle?" he asked.

"Answer my question first or I swear by Odin…!" Anne raised her voice as she raised her knife higher.

"Hey, now, I just…"

"Answer my question!" Anne demanded as she advanced forward.

"Hey, hey, whoa, sorry, sorry, sorry!" Demetrius waved his hands out for her to stop "I'm here to investigate the history of this place!"

Anne hesitated at the edge of the bed and lowered her knife slowly.

"Why?"

"Well, this used to be such a wonderful kingdom of magic and was wisely ruled over by King Barnaby and Queen Lucrecia," Demetrius panted as he eyed the dagger warily.

"Queen Lucrecia?" Anne raised her eyebrows "Queen…Lucrecia Crescent?"

Demetrius nodded and Anne stepped back warily, shaking her head.

"No, this can't be Crescent Castle…" she murmured then looked around the room.

"Sephiroth is the son of Lucrecia who helped him slay magic wielders, including women and children to gain power."

Anne suddenly felt her stomach churn and bile build up in her throat as she backed away until she fell onto the stool by the vanity.

"No, that can't be…" she whispered.

"Why do you think his magic core contains so much dark magic?"

Anne's breath hitched and she covered her mouth as the threat of vomiting grew.

"But…but that would mean…"

"That is the Valentine Ritual Dagger," Demetrius observed as he stood and walked over "Your ancestor, Vincent Valentine…"

"No…no…"

"…was lured here by the beautiful yet malicious Queen Lucrecia Crescent…"

"Lies…"

"…and confined in a cursed coffin, left to rot!"

"Liar!" Anne said as she stood up, glaring up at him.

"I can show you, I can prove it," Demetrius smirked "Take you down to the basement where he was dragged down and stuffed into his own coffin."

"But this place…"

Anne whined as she placed her hands over her head, tears brimming her eyes.

"…was where all those people were murdered. By King Sephiroth Crescent!"

"That was years ago!"

"The curse that grips him and the other residents halts their aging," Demetrius shrugged "Or so it seems anyhow."

He hooked a finger under Anne's chin and smirked.

"You can start feeling them now that you're aware, can't you?" he whispered "Tell me, are there any places where you're forbidden to go?"

"Ah, uh, West Wing…" Anne stuttered and jumped when Demetrius grabbed her hand.

"Come on."

"No, wait, I can't leave!" Anne protested as she dug her heels into the floor.

"Are you really going to obey him after you know what he's done?" Demetrius asked coldly, taking her aback "He killed most of your ancestors."

Anne opened her mouth then closed it and bowed her head.

"I promised…so he wouldn't kill…"

Demetrius smirked as he opened the door and yanked her through.

"Come with me, Valentine child," he said "Let's explore this castle that once housed prisoners for the Crescent Sacrificial Altar."

Anne grabbed his wrists as he cupped her cheeks.

"Boji!"

Sephiroth straightened his spine after doing some intense glowering at the empty coffin, his servants clustered behind him. Magic surged around the area where Anne's room was but it wasn't her magical signature he detected. He turned and sniffed the air, narrowing his eyes. He tried to see what Anne was feeling only to find that the connection was blocked and he growled.

"Who is keeping an eye on her?" he asked slowly and everyone exchanged a look "Who is keeping an eye on her?!"

"I made sure to inform Kunsel and Luxiere about standing guard at her room…" Angeal said as he trailed off.

"Tonomu!"

Sephiroth closed his eyes and saw what Kunsel and Luxiere could see. But they hadn't reach her room yet and he snarled.

"You idiots! Don't leave her unattended!" he barked as he stormed through the crowd.

"She's not a puppy that needs to be looked after!" Aerith protested as they began following him again "Your Majesty!"

Anne didn't know when she had clutched onto Demetrius but when the shadows surrounding them faded, the first thing she saw was the large blue altar, a model of a crescent moon hovering over it. She backed away as Demetrius let her go and placed a hand on the smooth surface.

"Here is where they were killed, slaughtered, murdered…" he growled angrily then turned to her "Men, women and children! And for what?! For power!"

Anne stumbled and struggled as he grabbed her by the wrist and slammed her down onto the altar, towering over her.

"They would be chained, terrified, humiliated!" he raised his voice as Anne tried to overpower him but failed.

"Oi, let go!" Anne cried and her eyes widened when Demetrius held up the knife he had taken from her.

"The very last things they would hear or see would be the chanting surrounding them…" he whispered as he pressed the knife to her cheek "The cruel smirk on his face… The glint of the dagger in the candlelight."

Anne kept her breathing steady as he pressed the knife harder and felt her blood spilling.

"Wynt!"

Demetrius was flown across the decrepit room, slamming into a dusty old bookcase which fell on top of him. Anne sat up, breathing in and out to calm herself as she watched him pull himself out from under the wreckage and glare at her.

"You bitch," he growled.

Anne opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted as the doors flew open and a roar echoed through the room, making everything shake in its wake. She turned her head to look at Sephiroth as he saw her then turned his head to see Demetrius who stood with the bloody knife in his hand. Sephiroth then looked back at her and snarled, slowly pacing towards her. Anne trembled as he towered over her and grabbed her shoulders, leaning a little to take in her features then sniffed around her cut.

"Iyasu," he snarled and the cut healed itself.

He then went to her other cheek and sniffed her scar, snarling louder and turning towards Demetrius.

"You…" he growled as Demetrius braced himself for an attack "Kyanseru."

Anne felt a wash of magic go across where her scar was and winced as she was suddenly assaulted with fury, stemming from the king in front of her. She let out a soft whine as Sephiroth held her a little tighter when Demetrius laughed.

"Look at you!" he taunted, swinging the Valentine Ritual Dagger around "You look like you care but all you think about is how beautiful she looks! Your petty anger is pathetic! Just because I gave her a little mark! It gets you really riled up, doesn't it?"

Sephiroth roared as he lunged for Demetrius and grabbed him roughly, lifting him up, his black nails digging deep into his sides. Demetrius choked in surprise as the king suddenly drew his hand back.

"Surasshu!"

There was a moment of quiet when he brought his claw down Demetrius and the hand that held Anne's knife went flying off his body and landed before the Wiccan. Anne stared at it in horror, her heartbeat audible, her breathing momentarily ceased and then suddenly everything rushed in at once. Demetrius's scream, the strong scent of blood, the satisfaction Sephiroth felt, Anne found herself slipping off the altar and stare at the hand that clutched her knife, whimpering and shaking. More screams were heard as Anne watched from her place as Sephiroth began ripping and mauling Demetrius further, thankful that the altar shielded most of the sight. Blood was splattered on the walls, organs flew across the room and limbs fell onto the floor. The final act that would have killed Demetrius if he hadn't died already was when Anne saw Sephiroth's large hand hold his heart and squeeze it to death. Then silence.

Anne gagged but held back the bile. However it wasn't enough and she retched, hunching over as green vomit splattered before her, accompanied with her dry heaving. Tears fell from her eyes as she began sobbing, holding her mouth as part of a leg rolled into view. She heard the heavy footsteps of the king and dared to look up at his bloody maw, his blood-stained chest and his blood soaked nails. He held a hand out for her.

"You disobeyed me," he said sombrely and terror clutched the young Wiccan's heart.

Anne shot off through the open doors, ignoring the king's demand for her to wait. She ran faster when she heard his lumbering footsteps behind her, tears still falling. She ran until she found herself in the lobby.

"Anne!"

Anne looked up to see Genesis by a doorway but lost her footing and fell down the main staircase. The red fox hybrid's eyes widened as he ran down to check if she was alright when she reached the bottom but was halted by the furious roar of his king. He saw the bloodied silver fox as he stood tall at the top of the staircase, glaring at the Wiccan at the foot of the staircase. They both braced when she moved and Genesis didn't think.

"Baundo!"

Golden cords of light shot out and snatched Sephiroth before he could lunge for Anne and Genesis battled against him, trying to restrain him in place.

"Anne, run!" he barked and Anne lifted her head to take in the scene before running across the lobby to the main doors.

There were loud snaps behind her and Genesis's pained grunt as she threw open the main doors and ran across the courtyard in the pouring rain. She slipped on a puddle and fell over before the gates, groaning in agony as she tried to get up.

"Hurry."

Anne lifted her head to see a hand with red nails outstretched towards her and saw the Stregherian in front of her, just outside the gates.

"Hurry, before he kills you," she whispered.

Anne reached out with a shaking hand…