"Don't go."

Anne hesitated as a voice rang out in her head.

"Please, please don't go."

It pleaded with her as she lay there in the rain, faced with the Stregherian who urged more.

"Come on! He'll kill you!"

"Stay here. Please, stay…"

Anne felt torn. The voice sounded lost, lonely, desperate. And yet, she was scared to be killed, be torn apart like Demetrius. Anne's hand dropped as she stared at the cold stone she lay upon.

"Oh, for Shiva's sake!" the Stregherian groaned as she lashed out to grab Anne.

Three snarls had her retreating and Anne felt three furry heads nudge her questioningly before the snarls erupted again, directed at the woman in red. She stumbled back a couple of paces before clenching her fist.

"I will come back," she vowed before the dogs leapt over the gate and chased her down the village.

Anne watched with dull eyes as she fled into the woods, the dogs close at her heels. She began sobbing and covered her face, whining and crying.

"Tifa…" she whimpered "Tifa…Tifa!"

Where was she? Where was her big sister? Her sister who would always be there for her, always there when everything was going wrong? Where was she? Anne hiccupped and squeezed her eyes shut. She remembered all the times she goofed off with her spells and potions and Tifa would be there, scolding her, lecturing her, sometimes screaming at her when her skin turned green. But Anne always knew it was because she cared for her. She was worried for her. Otherwise she wouldn't have been there when she was being bullied. She wouldn't have been there to hold her hand at their mother's funeral and then their father's funeral. But where was she now?!

"Tifa!" Anne called out to the dark clouds above her "Tifa!"

"Anne?"

Tifa woke up in her bed with a cold flannel on her forehead and groaned softly when she felt the sun on her face. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed out of the window with a confused frown.

"Ah, Miss Lockhart," Dr Hollander drew her attention from the outside view "Good, it's nice to see you awake."

"Where am I?" the young woman asked in a daze "I…"

"Careful now, when Mr Strife brought you home you were sustaining very severe injuries," the doctor eased her up to a sitting position "You must have run into a powerful monster. Thank goodness you're not hurt."

Tifa's eyes suddenly widened.

"Anne!" she cried out and winced as her body throbbed with pain.

"Miss Lockhart, you shouldn't move so much…"

"That thing has my little sister," she sobbed "I have to save her!"

"Calm down, Mr Strife has gone back to look for her."

Tifa looked up at the doctor as he stood, packing his medical equipment.

"He has?"

"Yes, I told him that you probably wouldn't wake up for a while and he mentioned something about your sister running off to find you?"

"He can't go," Tifa shook her head "It's huge, it's hideous, he'll get killed!"

"Now, I know Mr Strife isn't as good as the Omega brothers," Dr Hollander smiled as he closed his bag "But he is exceptional. Have faith in him, after all, why else would you pick him for a fiancé?"

"That creature knows magic!" Tifa rasped as her vision began to blur "Nngh…it was a…it was a…"

She suddenly snapped her head up to the doctor who observed her with a confused frown.

"A Shinto! She called him a Shinto!"

Dr Hollander looked down at her with raised eyebrows.

"A Shinto?" he echoed "You're telling me that your injuries are from a warlock with powers derived from a fox god from an Eastern culture?"

"Yes?" Tifa murmured as she remembered the monster looked somewhat like a fox.

Dr Hollander lifted his head back and laughed.

"A Shinto!" he barked out "Miss Lockhart, I'm afraid you must be mistaken. Shintos do not exist in this country!"

"But…" Tifa frowned.

"Now, Mr Strife will bring your sister back," the doctor insisted and fluffed her pillows "Just relax, I'll have someone from the village bring you food and drink and help around the place until they come back."

"But, Doc-"

"Just rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Tifa slumped when the door closed and she lay back, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I…"

There was a tap on her window and she opened her eyes to stare at the large green tendril that hovered outside. She watched as a second tendril came up with Anne's little basket, containing bread, cheese and water. She continued to stare in disbelief as the first tendril tapped again, more impatiently before working its way under the window and opening it. The basket was dropped into her lap and the Malboro outside crooned as it tapped her cheek softly. With a disgruntled sigh, Tifa patted the tentacle so it would go away and stared at the basket of food and water before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Anne's ankle was burning. She tried to stand up but the last fall twisted her ankle and now it was swelling up like a ball of mistletoe. She felt her energy slowly leaving her as she tried to crawl away to find shelter only to stop when she felt the rain stop falling on her and a shadow looming over her.

"Tifa?" she whispered.

A low grumble was her answer as a furry hand picked her up and held her against a strong chest. She watched the stone floor of the courtyard go by as she was carried back to the castle by Sephiroth. She watched the carpeted floors go by, droplets falling from her hair and dress until she was sat down in front of a fire in a big armchair, watching as the cursed king cradled her swollen ankle to examine it, whispering words of magic. Anne clenched the arms of the chair as magic ran up and down her leg, around her ankle but nothing eased the pain. His green eyes looked up at her after a period of time.

"You're rejecting my spells."

Anne blinked in surprise at his statement.

"I'm not doing it on purpose," she said with a cracked voice.

Sephiroth looked back down at her ankle and growled.

"Then what is it? Is this normal?"

"I wouldn't know, no-one's ever used spells on me in a position like this."

Sephiroth growled softly as he placed her ankle down. Anne laced her hands together awkwardly then spotted a rash on the king's shoulder.

"You're hurt," she murmured and he looked up at her sharply "Your shoulder…"

Sephiroth stood and looked down at his shoulder, growling.

"Must be a curse that whelp inflicted on me," he snarled.

"Genesis?"

"No, that man who hurt you."

Anne shifted as she raised her hand.

"May I see?"

Sephiroth drew away with a warning growl and Anne winced.

"I might be able to see if I can make a tonic for it."

Sephiroth stared down at her before falling onto all fours and bared his shoulder blade to her. He flinched when her tiny hands reached out and felt the rash, his breath tickling her side as she carefully stroked the raw skin.

"I have a theory, I'll use a diagnostic spell to confirm."

"Don't!" Sephiroth snapped as Anne lifted her hand to bite into it "I'll get your knife, just don't do anything stupid."

He stormed out, leaving the young Wiccan alone to stare into the fire thoughtfully.

Cloud's eyes widened as a red blur leapt over him in the forest.

"Watch out!"

Cloud barely heard the words through her foreign accent but when he looked forward, he saw the hulking figures of three dogs running towards him. His Chocobo let out an alarmed squawk as they turned and followed the woman through the forest.

"Come this way!"

Cloud glanced over his shoulders and dug his heel into his Chocobo who sprinted faster to avoid the menacing jaws of the Gray Wolf. They continued to follow the woman as the rain pelted down on them until they reached a clearing.

"Barriera!"

There were yelps as Cloud slowed down and turned to see the dogs had crashed into what looked like a colourful magic barrier. The woman dropped down in front of him after the spell, dual red blades at the ready as she glared down at the dogs that barked viciously at her. She sheathed them after a while and turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"There's a maiden in the castle not far from here," the woman explained as she gestured to the turret that was visible "A cruel king has imprisoned her there and I'm trying to save her."

"Maiden?" Cloud perked "Is her name Anne Lockhart by any chance? Long black hair and red eyes?"

The woman hesitated for a moment as she walked up to him with narrowed eyes.

"Yes…"

"I'm looking for her," Cloud said as he slipped off his Chocobo "I need to get her back home."

The woman looked him up and down before circling him, eyeing him like a piece of meat. He swallowed nervously before glancing at the snarling dogs.

"Um, are you a witch?"

"Beg pardon?"

The woman caught where his eyes were looking and smirked.

"Oh, no, the mushrooms around here repel those dogs," she said as she gestured to the multi-coloured mushrooms circling around them.

"Oh, I see," Cloud sighed.

"Perhaps we can work together," the woman purred as she slung an arm around his shoulders "My name is Rosso."

"Um, Cloud Strife," Cloud offered his hand to shake.

"Pleasure to meet you, Cloud Strife," Rosso smirked ominously "I suggest you rest first before we begin our plan to rescue our young maiden."

"Why are you rescuing her?"

Rosso hummed thoughtfully as she gazed up at the turret.

"I owe a debt to her family," she said with a shrug.

"There, now it's supported but make sure to keep off your feet."

"Thank you, Aerith."

Sephiroth watched the young women talk in front of the fire place, Anne's knife in his hands. She was still a little damp but changed into a dry dress, this one was lilac this time and looked more comfortable to relax in. He stepped in, letting out a growl to have them acknowledge his presence.

"Out."

"Your Majesty…" Aerith stood.

"Out!"

Aerith sighed as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Sephiroth looked down at Anne as he walked in front of her, crouching down to offer the bloody knife. His eyes wandered down to the bandaged ankle and he snorted in annoyance at Aerith's meddling. Anne looked down at her dagger before taking it and using the skirt of the new dress to wipe it clean. She then sliced her palm and beckoned for Sephiroth to bare his shoulder to her again. He twitched when she placed her bloody hand on his rash, tensing when her free hand came up to rest on his head, the knife on her lap. He relaxed as her fingers idly stroked behind his ears.

"Dyagansys…"

Sephiroth jerked when magic flowed through him but was soothed by her fingers gently massaging his head. He relaxed, letting the warm, comforting magic flow through his body and Anne run her hand up and down the rash. It was soothing, it was calming, Sephiroth didn't want this to end. Her warm, raw and inexperienced magic was nothing like he'd felt before in a person. Other than his mother that is but even her magic and spells had a cold edge to them. He growled when the magic ceased but was brought out of his reverie when Anne cleared her throat.

"It's an uncompleted curse, it's stunting your magic," the young Wiccan said "I know a tonic to make for it."

"Do you need your book?"

Anne nodded and Sephiroth raised his head.

"Zack!"

The Newfoundland ran in eagerly, barking in delight when he saw Anne.

"Oh, good, I was worried that you were gone…"

"Zack!" Sephiroth snarled and the dog whined "Get her book."

"Book? That one with the scary skull on it?"

Zack's ears flattened.

"What if it bites me?"

"Oh, if only it could do that," Anne giggled as she took her knife off her lap and placed it on the arm of the chair.

"Go!"

Zack whined and turned, running off towards Anne's room. Sephiroth huffed and laid his head on Anne's lap firmly.

"Do that again."

"Excuse me?"

"Your magic, do it again."

Anne hesitated before placing her hand on his head.

"This spell is a calming spell which I use to tame monsters," she murmured into his ear "Is that alright?"

Sephiroth snorted and heard the dagger slice through her skin.

"Royk…"

Sephiroth melted with a soft, content groan as her magic flowed through him again and closed his eyes blissfully, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Anne chewed her lip when Sephiroth fell asleep on her, essentially becoming a deadweight.

"Well, when I said calming, I didn't mean it was a cue to fall asleep on top of me," she huffed.

"Here it is…"

Zack had the Book of Shadows out in front him as he walked in and saw the scene.

"That is adorable," he squealed softly as he handed her the book.

"I'm starting to lose the circulation in my legs," Anne deadpanned.

Zack just cooed in adoration as he crouched by Sephiroth and reached out to pet him but a loud growl had him withdrawing back to the door. Anne glared down at him briefly before opening the book and petting his ears as she looked through the book before finding the page she wanted.

"Um, Zack do you know about plants well enough to determine the difference between sage and foxgloves?"

"Fox gloves? Like what Gen or Seph here wear?"

Anne stared at him blankly in disbelief.

"Maybe Angeal could help gather the ingredients."

"Good idea! Angeal loves gardening! I'll get him!"

Anne watched as he scampered out eagerly and Anne looked down at Sephiroth with a soft frown. He looked peaceful and content to be lying his head on her lap. If only he was a normal dog, he would have been a wonderful familiar. Anne lifted her head when Angeal wandered in with Zack bouncing up and down behind him.

"That looks nasty," he murmured when he saw Sephiroth's rash "Genesis is just resting in his room, you wouldn't know any tonics for cursed bites?"

"Cursed bites?" Anne echoed with wide eyes "I would have to run a diagnostic spell…"

"Never mind, it's a temporary curse but Genesis loves complaining," Angeal sighed as he read the page Anne showed him "These are the ingredients for the tonic?"

"Yes. Zack I'll need the equipment you brought me the other day."

"Sure thing!"

Zack ran out as Angeal wandered out whilst reading the Book of Shadows for the ingredients. Anne shifted uncomfortably as Sephiroth nuzzled his nose against her stomach before turning his head to lie it on its side. She sat back, drumming her fingers impatiently on the arms of the armchair and hummed to herself. She closed her eyes and listened to the fire crackling in the fireplace, smiling to herself as she imagined herself at home, probably hiding a potion from Tifa and feeding Max.

Oh, Max. Anne sighed softly as she opened her eyes and gazed out at the dark evening, the rain still pouring down. She had many monster pets but Max was so adorable and huge and dangerous, taming him had gotten her adrenaline running. She smiled wistfully when she recalled Tifa's expression when she realised she had been hiding a massive Malboro in her room. Anne remembered the pride that had run through her when she achieved a dimension expansion spell without nearly losing her arm. Boy that had been a close call.

Anne tensed when Sephiroth shifted in her lap and she sighed.

"You still asleep, huh?" she whispered and looked into the fire "Really…"

It took a while until Angeal and Zack arrived with the ingredients and equipment. Anne could only slice her palm to drip blood into the crucible. Eventually the mixture was done with heating up and Anne was stirring the thick green liquid. Zack had run off to fool around with Aerith whilst Angeal had been summoned by Genesis. She poked Sephiroth's head thoughtfully and he snorted softly, still in a deep sleep. She took a deep breath, lifted a spoonful of the tonic and tipped it out onto the rash.

"OW!"

Anne gasped as the action woke Sephiroth up and with a loud roar he stood and threw her off the armchair, the armchair sailing across the room. Anne hissed as the crucible was tipped over and the tonic was spilt over the carpet. Sephiroth paced around the room angrily a couple of times as Anne set the crucible up before the tonic was completely wasted and he glared down at her.

"What do you…think…?"

He trailed off when he saw Anne on the floor, struggling to get back to her feet after being knocked down. He looked around before hissing and looking down at his shoulder that was steaming.

"Don't move," he ordered as he picked her up and glanced at the destroyed armchair.

He looked around, holding her in his arms as she shook softly. He sighed and bowed his head.

"Get it over with," he murmured.

"No, you should rest in a comfortable area, it can sting to the point you may pass out depending on the power of the curse."

Sephiroth snarled as he glanced at the door then carried her out. Anne glanced down at the floor until she looked up when she saw them going into the West Wing.

"Just this one time," he warned before setting her down in his nest of blankets and pillows.

He laid her down before placing his shoulder firmly on her chest. Anne saw one of his hands grabbing a pillow tightly to the point that feathers began spilling out. She reached out and rested her own tiny hand on the back of it.

"Deep breaths, OK?" she whispered and he clenched his teeth when she dipped the spoon into the mixture and carefully tipped it onto his rash.

Sephiroth arched his back with a sharp howl of pain and Anne held tightly onto his hand as the pillow he clutched onto became just a pillow cover.

"It's alright, it's alright, that's all of the rash covered," she whispered as she placed the crucible down just outside of the pillows and blankets.

Sephiroth's hand abandoned the pillow case and feather pile to cradle Anne to him.

"Soothing spell, now…" he demanded.

"Your Majesty…" Anne murmured and sighed "I'll cast the spell after you use a spell so I can see if the tonic worked."

"Grr…shuri."

Anne saw the pillow getting repaired beside her and nodded.

"Now, not wanting to be too fussy, but I'd appreciate it if you don't fall asleep on me…"

She yelped when Sephiroth turned so he was on his back and she was on his chest. She took her knife and sliced her palm.

"Royk…"

Sephiroth sighed when the soothing spell took hold of him and he kept a firm, protective hand over her body. Anne glared down at him as he went straight to sleep.

"Really, you couldn't heal me and let me go?"

She sighed when she realised she wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon so lay her head on his chest. Her eyes slowly fluttered to a close and she fell asleep on top of him.