Musings of Emerald and Silver
By turtlerad17
Disclaimer: I don´t own FF7 in any way or form.
Musing 10- After (as in After Ever-after)
The tale had been told, the adventure was over, and the hand of the fair maiden had been won; happily ever-after had finally been reached.
But not for him.
Sephiroth -the Crown Prince of Norder, betrothed to the Fiery Garnet of Celab since birth, the Prince Charming of Her Royal Highness Princess Tifa Alexandria Serenity Garnet DeEstaban-had lost his "happily ever-after" to a stable boy.
The stable boy in question had been foisted off onto him by his parents (at the advice of his fairy godmother) to take with him on his journey despite Sephiroth's wishes and very vocal complaints.
Cloud (Sephiroth still though that it was a ridiculous name to call someone) had been nothing but a hindrance to Sephiroth from the start. The boy was arguably the worst possible servant and companion in existence that Sephiroth could have been saddled with. The boy was accident prone, afraid of the dark and was unable to keep from blurting out any vital secrets to the quest at the most inopportune moment.
Hell, even an eighty pound block of wood would have been more useful than Cloud.
While Sephiroth had been scaling the tower in which Princess Tifa had been sequestered in (he would have taken the stairs but his fairy godmother had demanded that he reach the princess the "traditional" way), the blundering stable boy had reached Sleeping Beauty a full five minutes before "Prince Charming" did.
Covered in sweat and dust with leaves and sticks on his hair, Sephiroth had finally managed to climb in through the window into the room at the top of the tower and had found his stable boy lip locked with Princess Tifa. Apparently Cloud had taken the same stairs that Sephiroth's fairy godmother had disdained Prince Charming to use ("using the stairs is just so common, anyone can do it. It takes a Champion to scale a tower or a cliff face to win the hand of his lady-love").
With a snort of disgust Sephiroth yanked his crown off and roughly deposited it on Cloud's unruly blond head, transferring just enough Price Charming magic to the boy to ensure that he and his princess would get their happily ever-after. Sephiroth had had it with this insipid adventure.
Cranky and disgusted with the turn of events the Crown Prince of Norder stomped down the stairs of the tower and out of the slowly awakening city. The walk out of the capital city of Celab was much easier than the walk in had been.
Having to hack and chop his way in through miles of thick, black, thorny brambles with an enchanted sword with a perpetually dull blade was not Sephiroth's idea of fun. The enchanted sword had been given to him by his fairy godmother ("it builds character. So stop bitching about it and start cutting through already"), but Sephiroth was pretty sure that the well-crafted but unadorned sword that was back at his campsite was far superior to the piece of pot metal that he had used to cut through the brambles.
While grumpily trudging back to his camp several miles away, Sephiroth reviewed the events leading up to the big, anticlimactic ending to the whole farce. And if he ever saw his fairy godmother again Sephiroth would skin her alive with the enchanted sword she had so graciously bestowed upon him.
But we're getting off topic here. Back to reviewing the events that lead up to the ending of the tale of this generation's Sleeping Beauty.
In order of occurrence, the following requirements for fulfilling the legend of Sleeping Beauty had been fulfilled.
On her 16th birthday, Princess Tifa returned from her exile in the woods where she had been raised by peasants to the castle. She been told that she actually was a princess and not the daughter of the people who had lovingly raised her.
On the stroke of midnight on her birthday Princess Tifa had somehow managed to wander away from the diligent watchfulness of over two hundred castle guards and found the last spinning wheel in the entire kingdom (it was an ancient thing that had been moldering in one of the forgotten storage rooms in the lower levels of the castle for over a century).
Being the inquisitive creature that she was, Princess Tifa reached out and pricked her finger on the wicked sharp point of the spinning wheel (never mind that the thing was falling apart from dry rot) and instantly fell asleep. Her fairy godmothers being the compassionate creatures that they were helpfully put the entire city to sleep along with their princess.
Cue the entrance of Prince Charming over two hundred miles away as he stepped into the old decrepit cottage that he had been ordered to visit by his parents and to charm the socks off of the young lass who lived there (his parents had been wanting grandchildren ever since he had turned thirteen).
Predictably the moment he entered the cottage, he had been clubbed over the head by a hidden crony of the Evil Sorceress and had been bundled back to her impenetrable fortress (the one time Cloud could have been useful during this entire quest, the stable boy was suspiciously absent).
Waking up chained to the wall in the Evil Sorceress's dungeon, he had been told by the Evil Sorceress herself (a slim, willowy creature with big green eyes, a heart-shaped face and the sweetest smile; in other words the exact opposite of what an Evil Sorceress ought to be) that barring divine intervention that he would be calling this room home for the next hundred years.
The moment the Evil Sorceress had stepped out of the room, Sephiroth's fairy godmother had appeared in a shower of pink glitter and had equipped him with an enchanted blade "guaranteed to cut through anything without ever losing its edge" (Sephiroth instantly wanted a refund on the piece of gaudily decorated piece of junk) and a shield that would protect him from all forms of magical attack (the thing was made out of card board and was promptly discarded) and as an afterthought had released him from his chains.
Battling the Evil Sorceress' henchmen, which had turned out to be golems of all things, Sephiroth had finally escaped from the fortress and was promptly found by the stable boy that had been clinging to him like a leech since the start of the whole sordid affair despite numerous attempts to lose him.
Traveling for only an hour Sephiroth arrived at the wall of thorns that the sorceress had conjured to bar his way from the sleeping princess within the castle (the Evil Sorceress' hideout had been within viewing distance of the castle the whole time).
The next ten hours were spent hacking through the wall of brambles accompanied by much cursing.
Finally after he cut down the last branch in his way with his boot knife (he had abandoned the enchanted sword within ten minutes after he discovered just how useless it was) he was met face-to-face with the lovely Evil Sorceress herself and immediately engaged in mortal combat with her.
The final battle lasted only thirty minutes and after realizing that they were actually almost evenly matched in physical combat (which was very surprising to Sephiroth) she disappeared in a cloud of purple-black smoke.
Without anything barring his way anymore, Sephiroth strolled up to the castle and after an hour long argument with his fairy godmother, climbed up the tallest tower in the entire structure only to find that the stable boy had beaten him to the punch.
Well that pretty much covers it, Sephiroth thought as his camp finally came into sight, but for some reason I have a feeling that I keep forgetting something.
Oh that's right, he realized as the giant claws closed around his body and with a sickening lurch he became airborne, I forgot about the dragon.
Sephiroth passed out soon afterwards.
It was a lovely day, the sun was shinning, the birds were singing their hearts out and the smell of growing things and flowers was in the air. It was a perfect day for a happily ever-after. Distant wing beats brought Aeris out of her musings, her eyes automatically fastening on the great dark lavender bulk that was growing rapidly closer to the tower she was currently standing in.
Eagerly Aeris rushed down the stairs (it was a relatively short tower) and out into the courtyard to meet her returning friend. With a flurry of wind, dust, twigs and other miscellaneous debris the dragon landed, the sun glinting off her dark lavender scales like oil on water. Standing at over fifty feet tall and two hundred feet long from the end of her snout to the tip of her poison barbed tail, this dragon cast an imposing figure.
"Blossom!" Aeris called, "what have you brought me today old friend?"
With an amused snort, Blossom dropped the object that she had been carrying. It, or rather he, landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs, black leather and long hair the color of moonlight. Seeing that the man was having trouble untangling himself, Aeris summoned two of her small but incredibly strong sandstone colored golems and instructed them to take her guest to his "room".
Groaning, as he recovered his wits, the man groggily looked up at the golems that were picking him up, each holding one of his arms in a grip of steel with their huge hands. Immediately he started struggling to get free, but since these golems were roughly ten times stronger than the average hero, knight in shinning armor or Prince Charming, his efforts were in vain.
Watching in amusement as the golems dragged their struggling prisoner up to his new chambers in the highest room in her tallest tower (one coincidently that had no stairs leading up to the rooms in which he would be staying in, Aeris wasn't dumb, stupid evil villains tended to have short careers), Aeris walked over to Blossom, and listened to her as the dragon regaled the Evil Sorceress about the happily ever-after that her childhood friend Princess Tifa had finally scored.
Sephiroth meanwhile had given up trying to escape form his golem guards. As the one on his right opened the door leading to the tower that he was to be imprisoned in (the irony wasn't lost on him), the former Prince Charming gaped in disbelief.
"You seriously can't believe that you are going to be able to get me up there," Sephiroth scoffed, referring to the landing over seven stories above him that had no stairs or elevator leading up to it.
The golems of course didn't answer him.
Ignoring the prince's goading (they were golems after all) the Evil Sorceress' minions simply dragged him over to the closest wall and placed one hand on the rough-hewn surface. Then something very odd happened, the golems' hands sunk into the wall.
They then placed their feet on the wall and proceeded to climb up the wall, Sephiroth's feet uselessly dangling in the air between them. The hike up the inside wall of the tower was ridiculously smooth, the golems possessing an innate grace that their somewhat blocky appearance did not suggest. They reached the landing at the top of the tower rather quickly but Sephiroth's shoulders were already aching at having to support his whole weight for even that short amount of time.
A ladder led up to a trapdoor at one side of the rather small ledge that Sephiroth and the two golems were currently standing on. The golem on his right released his arm to reach up and threw the trapdoor open. Once that was accomplished, the other golem dragged Sephiroth over to the ladder and motioned for him to climb up it before releasing his other arm.
Sephiroth scowled and after rotating his shoulders several times to shake out the stiffness crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. They might have forced him up here, but there was no way in hell that he would enter what was obviously meant to be his prison of his own free will.
"I think that it would be a rather good idea to do what they wish," a voice from behind him spoke.
Whirling around, Sephiroth was met with the smirking face of the Evil Sorceress.
"Like you could make me," Sephiroth scoffed.
"I might not be able to," the Evil Sorceress admitted, "but they," she gestured to the golems, "certainly can and since they obey me, I don't think that it would be a good idea to make me angry."
Sephiroth didn't move an inch.
"Don't say that I didn't warn you," Aeris informed him as Sephiroth was suddenly seized and thrown over the shoulder of one her golems.
Cursing in at least five different languages while pounding his fists ineffectually on the golem's back, Sephiroth was hauled the ladder in a most undignified manner and shoved through the trapdoor above. As the golem climbed back down the ladder, it hauled the trapdoor shut behind it. Furious and humiliated Sephiroth sprang to his feet and tried to heave the trapdoor back open.
He failed miserably.
The blasted chunk of wood was so heavy that he couldn't even budge it. Sephiroth had a hunch that the Evil sorceress had enchanted it so that only her golems could open it. With a grunt, he finally gave up, releasing the heavy iron ring that had been bolted to the trapdoor. The ring vanished in the next moment and the sound of locks clicking into place could be heard.
He had effectively been trapped in the room.
Taking a look around the room Sephiroth was slightly disappointed to find that his room was not furnished with the sparse, crude and very uncomfortable furniture that he had come to associate with prison cells in fairy tales. Instead the furniture was sturdy, comfortable and moderately attractive; the kind of furnishings that could be found in the abode of a moderately wealthy artisan or merchant.
Wandering over to the window with the faint hope of finding anything useful in allowing him to escape Sephiroth was dismayed but not surprised to find that there were no vines protruding bricks or anything of a similar nature that would allow him to climb down the wall. This Evil Sorceress was thorough as well as smart, a dangerous combination. It was a wonder that he had even able to come to a draw with her given the resources at her disposal.
Sephiroth sighed, it looked like that he was going to be here for awhile.
The former Prince Charming- now prisoner of the Evil Sorceress- staged his first escape attempt that at false dawn the next day. Having created a rope out of all the bed linens and other various assorted large and long pieces of fabric, he was all set to get out of the tower he was locked up in. With a flourish he threw the cloth rope over the window ledge and immediately started scaling down it.
In hindsight he should have checked to make sure that the rope was long enough to reach the ground or get low enough so he cloud safely drop to the dirt. But of course in his rush to get out of the tower, he had overlooked that critical piece of information. So it came to quite a shock to Sephiroth to find that the rope of sheets and blankets he had been climbing down ended abruptly, leaving him hanging about halfway down the tower, way too far for him to safely drop to the ground.
A snort accompanied by a cloud of smoke alerted him to the fact that Sephiroth was not alone.
Craning his neck around so he could get a good look at his observer, Sephiroth groaned.
"Hello Blossom," Sephiroth sighed.
Blossom smiled in reply, displaying a mouth full of very big, sharp and pointy gleaming white teeth.
Sephiroth gulped loudly. He was at the total mercy of the Evil Sorceress' dragon, hanging at the end of his rope three hundred feet up in the air.
Blossom rumbled in amusement and daintily took the back of his breastplate (made out of 100 mythril according to his fairy godmother though Sephiroth suspected that it was really made out of tin) and a good chunk of his cape between her front teeth and with a slight tug plucked the prince off the side of the tower and went off to find the Evil Sorceress.
Back in her chambers Aeris was dreaming of chocolate, flowers, and snakes when she was abruptly roused by a large cloud of lilac scented smoke that Blossom had blew upon her (she was a dragon of many talents including being able to control how her smoke smelled). With a smile she stretched and enjoyed the quickly dissipating cloud of lilac scented smoke.
"Good morning Blossom," Aeris greeted the dragon.
Opening her eyes Aeris took in the other person that was hanging outside her window.
"Good morning Princeling," Aeris greeted Sephiroth with a smirk, "enjoying the view?"
The prince said something that was not appropriate for polite company.
"Tried climbing out the window with a rope of bedclothes?" Aeris guessed.
The prince glared at her sullenly.
"Climbing out windows by tying one's bedclothes into a rope is so predictable and clichéd," Aeris remarked with a yawn, "so of course I made sure that if done that they would only reach halfway down the tower."
"For a Prince Charming your really aren't very smart are you? From what I heard, your servant stole your happily ever-after from right under your nose. It's pathetic really," Aeris continued, "you have got to be the sorriest excuse of a Prince Charming that I have ever seen."
Sephiroth snarled in rage. She may not look to fit the part, but Aeris certainly acted like an Evil Sorceress at times.
"Or could it be that I used my magic to make sure that you were assigned the most incompetent fairy godmother in existence for your quest," Aeris mentioned.
Sephiroth's mouth dropped open in shock.
"A bit surprising that a little girl like me has enough magic to be able to interfere with the assignment of a fairy godmother," Aeris smirked, "oh and by the way, the next time you try to escape, please do it in a more interesting manner, climbing out the window using sheets and blankets tied into a rope is so boring and predictable."
Summoning her magic, Aeris snapped her fingers and Sephiroth was transported back into his room in the tower.
After his third day of being incarcerated in the tower, the Evil Sorceress (he had learned that Aeris' name was not Evil Sorceress after being whacked with her staff for calling her that) started taking his meals to him personally instead of using her magic to make the food appear in his room.
Much to his surprise (he seemed to be doing that much of late) Sephiroth found Aeris to be a very amiable and pleasant person who was not only highly intelligent and quick of wit but a good conversationalist as well. It was such a shame that she was evil, for had she been a princess or even a normal peasant, he would have really enjoyed creating a happily ever-after with her.
When asked why she had even bothered to hold him prisoner, she bluntly replied that while he had lost quite a bit of his Prince Charming magic, he still had enough to mess up the happily ever-after of one of her other clients.
Unlike other evil villains, Aeris was aware of the fact that no matter what she did, every fairytale that she played the role of Evil Sorceress in would result in a happily ever-after. She was also of the opinion that the happily ever-afters had been catering to the male heroes of the fairy tales for far too long, resulting in some less-than-happily ever-afters for the damsels that she placed in distress.
Aeris by far was the most unorthodox villain that Sephiroth had ever heard of. Not only did have great fun playing the role of Evil Sorceress even in inevitable defeat but she actually worked with the girls that she cursed, locked up and so on to make sure that they reached the happily ever-after that they desired.
The young mage even went so far as to interview each of her "clients" in secret about a year before she placed them in peril to determine what she needed to do to make sure that they got the ending that they wanted. Of course Aeris didn't do this for free, she was evil after all. Instead she demanded five percent of their dowry in exchange for her services, a fee that each heroine gladly paid to make sure that they didn't get stuck with Prince Not-charming.
Sephiroth wondered what the Guild of Fairy Godmothers would think if they ever got wind of what Aeris was actually up to. She was encroaching on their business after all and the GFG did not tolerate competition. Many of the magical creatures that had dared challenge the GFG had had mysterious accidents and were never heard from again.
After getting to know his captor so well and finding that, the whole Evil Sorceress thing aside, she actually was quite a passionate, caring and overall decent person, Sephiroth was starting to have mixed feelings about the escape plan he was creating. On the one hand, he had responsibilities to fulfill as the Crown Prince and it was his duty as a Prince Charming to defeat the Evil Sorceress that was holding him prisoner. But on the other, he really did not want to return to his parents and tell them about his losing his betrothed to the stable boy, and had actually becomes friends with Aeris and was genuinely fond of her.
Had she been a damsel in distress, he would have said that he was in love with her. All the symptoms were there: the increase of his heart rate whenever she was in the room, the warm fuzzy feelings he got when he thought about her smile or laugh, the desire to make her happy, not to mention the X-rated dreams of her that he was having (of course that last one could be attributed to him being a hot-blooded male).
But it was impossible for him to have such feelings for an Evil Sorceress, it went against every rule there was in the Fairytale Lawbook that had existed since the creation of their world. No, it was for the best that he get away from her, for the love between a villain and a hero was doomed from the start. That was just the way that their world worked.
The next day dawned clear and bright, and the scent of spring was everywhere. It had all the signs of being a perfectly lovely day. Too bad that Sephiroth wouldn't get the chance to enjoy it because he would be too busy making good his escape from the Evil Sorceress.
Being the shrewd person that Aeris was, there had been nothing in the room that Sephiroth could have used as a weapon against her. The few items that could have possibly have been used in such a manner were covered in so many enchantments that it would be impractical to try.
The idea had come to him while he had been watching Aeris play with Blossom. It was actually rather odd that Aeris had befriended her dragon instead of simply enslaving it like most other evil villains would have done, but that was Aeris for you, always doing exactly what you didn't expect an Evil Sorceress to do.
Sephiroth had noticed that there was a very strong bond between the girl and the dragon, it was quite apparent that they would lay their lives down for the other. What he was planning to do was actually quite detestable and went against his own personal set of ethics, but desperate times called for desperate measures and he really had to get out of his prison.
He had already (painfully) learned that despite her petite frame, Aeris was his match in physical combat, yet another oddity about her, when he had tried to overpower and force her to let him go a week into his incarceration. His attempt had failed spectacularly with Aeris ending up pinning Sephiroth to the floor instead of the other way around. As punishment, Aeris placed a hex on him that stuck his legs together, making it very difficult for him to move about the room at the top of the tower.
She had finally relented after Blossom had barely prevented him from becoming street pizza. He had been hopping about, trying to get from the desk to the chair near the fireplace to get warm in the chilly tower. But Sephiroth had misjudged his movements, resulting in him tripping over the wooden chair that he had just gotten out of, causing him to fall backwards towards the open window. The dragon had heard his scream as he fell out of the window and just managed to catch him about twenty feet above the ground.
For the second time in a week, Aeris found Blossom outside of her bedroom, holding a much disheveled Sephiroth in her jaws, only this time instead of being angry and frustrated, the Crown Prince was shaken from his near brush with death. Aeris immediately released the leg-lock hex she had placed on him and apologized profusely.
She spent the rest of the afternoon with Sephiroth in his room making sure that he was unharmed from what had happened. Once again she was proving to be not what he had expected.
After the experience, Sephiroth found himself questioning the traditional character roles in fairy tales. There was something about Aeris that the prince just couldn't put his finger on. It was as if she wasn't supposed to be a villain at all.
Aside from taking obvious enjoyment in stalling the progress of the heroes that she went up against, the girl didn't act like an Evil Sorceress at all. She acted more like a nobleman's daughter than a villain. But that couldn't be right, females nobles never became evil unless they had been deeply scorned and Aeris seemed to be anything but scorned. Wicked yes, scorned no. And most definitely not evil.
Sephiroth shook his head to dispel the confusing train of thoughts. He didn't have the luxury to try and figure out the puzzle that Aeris was, he had to get out of this tower and get back to his kingdom. It was his duty after all.
The word seemed suddenly distasteful.
But he had no choice in the matter, it had to be done. He would have to betray Aeris' trust and use her friendship with the dragon against her to win his freedom. He couldn't stay here as Aeris' "guest". No matter how decently she treated him, he was still her prisoner and he had to leave. He just had to.
Sephiroth seemed to be getting restless of late. Whenever she visited him, he always seemed distracted, distant. She knew that being cooped up in that tower for so long was getting to him, but she couldn't let him go. There was something about him, something that her instincts told her that if he not where she could keep an eye on him, something would go terribly wrong. It was starting to drive Aeris slightly mad.
His Prince Charming magic was barely a dim glow by now due to first losing his fairy tale ending to his attendant and then being forced into a position that was against the nature of a hero: the helpless prisoner (more commonly known as the damsel in distress, but of course that term couldn't apply to Sephiroth since he was very obviously not female). She felt sorry for him, really, but her magical instincts that she inherited from her predecessor were quite firm in telling her that he needed to be here to fulfill a very important role in a story that was unfolding.
Aeris just wished she knew what that story was.
She couldn't let go of him, but she could at least try to give him a way to dispel his restlessness. As long as he agreed under a magically binding oath not to try and run away, she could let him have some time outside in the courtyard under the watchful eye of Blossom and her golems.
Her mind made up, Aeris gathered her magic and transported to Sephiroth's tower.
"Hi there handsome."
Sephiroth practically fell out of his chair at Aeris words' from behind him.
"What do you want?" he scowled.
"Someone's in a bad mood," Aeris observed.
"I wonder whose fault that is?" the words were spoken with heavy sarcasm.
"Your own most likely," she shrugged.
Even though she had turned her back to him the death glare she was receiving was unmistakable.
"Well since you are in no mood to be civil, I guess that you really don't want a chance to be out in the courtyard for a few hours do you?" she asked.
"Is this some sort of joke?" he growled.
"If you're going to be nasty, I'll leave." Aeris stated.
"No wait!" he called as she started fading out.
"Why should I?" she asked.
"Look," he said, "I'm sorry about being rude, but given the circumstances, it is not entirely unbelievable that I am in this mood."
"Which is why I think you need some time outdoors," Aeris agreed, "under strict watch of course."
"Of course," he grumbled.
"I wouldn't be a very good Evil Sorceress if I didn't now would I?"
Sephiroth snorted, "you hardly fit the bill for being an Evil Sorceress."
"I'll take that as a compliment." she replied.
"So what do I have to do to get this privilege?" he asked warily.
"Don't miss much do you?" she noted.
"What sort of Prince Charming would I be if I wasn't?" Sephiroth returned.
"One that is not likely to get out of the dragon's den with his hide intact." Aeris smirked.
Sephiroth had to chuckle at that, imagining Cloud trying to rescue Princess Tifa from an angry dragon resulting in getting his eyebrows singed off.
"I'm sure that Blossom has had some experience with that," Sephiroth remarked.
"What can I say, she's a dragon after all," Aeris replied, "but back to business. There is something from me that you want-"
Sephiroth had to stomp on the lewd thoughts her words had conjured in his mind.
"-but to get it, I need something in return."
Aeris took in his glazed look and snapped her fingers in his face "get your mind out of the gutter loverboy. I didn't mean that sort of payment."
"Oh," Sephiroth almost seemed disappointed.
"I want you to give a magically binding blood oath not to try and run off in exchange for having a few hours a day to exercise, train or do whatever you Prince Charming types do in your off-time," Aeris explained.
"That doesn't seem unreasonable," Sephiroth admitted, "given the circumstances."
"Yes, 'given the circumstances', most men in your position would be locked up in the dungeon, chained to the wall with rats crawling all over you instead of being placed in this nicely furnished tower room," Aeris teased, "although the idea of you in chains in the dungeon, minus the rats (I can't stand the foul things) and most of your clothing does sound like an appealing idea."
"Perhaps we could try it after my 'free time' tomorrow," Sephiroth suggested, "you are an Evil Sorceress after all, it is your prerogative to torture your prisoners if you choose to."
"Hmmm, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Aeris murmured, taking in the nicely muscled arms and chest of her prisoner, "I wouldn't be a very good Evil Sorceress if I don't try to despoil my royal captive."
"You certainly wouldn't be," Sephiroth agreed, inching closer to Aeris.
The mage took in his predatory stance and smoldering gaze as he advanced on her.
"Hold it!" she demanded, taking her statement literally by using her magic to freeze Sephiroth's feet to the floor, "quit trying to distract me. I want that oath now buddy before we go any further."
Sephiroth cursed, he had been hoping to make her forget that. It would have made getting away so much easier.
He grumbled, "fine."
Aeris summoned a glowing blue stone from her workroom and handed a needle to Sephiroth, "now prick you finger, place it on the oath stone and repeat after me, 'I swear that I won't try to harm anyone in this fortress or try to escape while I am outside this room'."
Sephiroth pricked his thumb and placed it on the oath stone after he had squeezed a bead of blood out of the small injury, "I swear that I won't try to harm anyone in this fortress or try to escape while I am outside this room."
The oath stone glowed brightly and a shock of magic traveled up his arm to rest in his chest.
"Should you try to break your oath, the magic will shock you hard enough to render you unconscious and will keep you paralyzed for at least three days afterwards," Aeris told him, "keep that in mind when you go out tomorrow."
"What about the part afterwards?" Sephiroth asked with a leer.
"I'll consider it," and with that she was gone, leaving a very frustrated prince behind.
Things were going so smoothly between the Evil Sorceress and her captive Prince Charming. A love was growing between the odd pair that defied convention. A love that if fulfilled could rock the foundation of the Fairytale Tradition of this world. No one it seemed even knew that the Crown Prince of Norder was missing, all assumed that he was still off on his quest to find his destiny. Their love was growing in secret, unknown to the outside world and if a certain chain of events had not come to pass, neither the Sorceress nor the Prince would have ever discovered their destiny.
It all started a few weeks after Sephiroth gave his blood oath not to try and escape when Aeris allowed him outdoors a few hours every day. Now while some might consider Sephiroth's treatment to be a bit inhumane, consider what he would be going through had he been captured by a different villain. Compared to them, Aeris was positively benevolent. She had freely admitted it that she was in the Evil Sorceress business for the happiness of her clients, not for the sake of being evil.
No, Aeris wasn't evil at all, she just enjoyed playing the Evil Sorceress role to the fullest. But no one knew that except her clients, Blossom and now Sephiroth. The Crown Prince knew that there must be a good story behind how Aeris became what she is today, but she deftly avoided any discussion about her past, saying that it was unimportant and none of his business.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that she took on her current role as a means to hide her true identity from the world, but just what that identity was a complete mystery to the silver-haired prince. Something or someone had forced Aeris to become the strong, cunning, and meticulous person she was today. Those traits, sorely lacking in many evil villains, were what made her so good at what she does. Her grasp of strategy as well as both the magical and martial arts was quite impressive.
He admired all these things about her but at the same time he detected a vulnerability deep within the girl. It wasn't hard to deduce, she was lonely and starved for companionship.
Sephiroth reasoned that her loneliness was a big factor why she kept on interacting with him on a daily basis instead of letting him molder in the tower. And while she had taken up to flirting outrageously with him, she kept on shying away from any real physical intimacy with Sephiroth. It was driving him nuts, but there was nothing he could do about it.
For all her confidence, the girl was still an innocent.
Sephiroth couldn't help it, he was madly in love with his pretty captor. He had finally mustered up the courage to admit his feelings to her when the unexpected happened. Somehow, a group of unadorned soldiers was able to sneak past Aeris' magical wards and golems as well as Blossom and had kidnapped Aeris from the middle of her fortress.
Darkness, a bitter taste in her mouth, the feeling of being strangled and smothered. That was the feeling that Aeris awoke to.
"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty wakens," a smooth, cultured voice spoke as a calloused hand smoothed back her hair from her face.
"Get your fucking hands off of me you creep before I blow them off!" Aeris snarled, thrashing her bound form.
"Don't think that your little magic tricks will help you now Aeris," the male voice taunted.
Aeris had heard that voice before. Smooth, cultured, unbelievably arrogant with a streak of cruelty hiding underneath.
"You!" Aeris spat.
"It seems that the little spitfire finally remembers me," the man remarked.
"How could I forget a vile snake like you?" she gritted out.
"Tisk, tisk, Aeris," the man tutted, "is that anyway to speak to your betrothed."
"You won't be able to hold me for long," Aeris warned.
"I think not," he retorted, "that collar around your lovely neck blocks off your magic and we have a very lovely charm that hides our scent from your dragon. Besides, no one would ride to the aid of an 'Evil Sorceress'."
His men laughed crudely at his taunt.
I can think of one person, Aeris thought, I just hope that he and Blossom can work together and get to me in time before it's too late.
The horse that she was slung across stumbled, sending an unpleasant jolt through her body. She wiggled a bit testing her bonds,
I ran away from home and became Master Gillia's apprentice to avoid marrying this creep, Aeris thought, and I'll kill myself before I let his hands touch me in any kind of sexual manner.
"Aw look, it seems that my blushing bride to be is already looking forward to our wedding night, aren't you sweetling?" he mocked.
"Go fuck yourself Rufus!" Aeris growled.
"That's Prince Rufus to you bitch!" he slapped her.
Aeris spat out a globbulet of blood from her mouth from the split lip his strike had caused.
"Now be a good little princess and I won't have to hurt you anymore," Rufus sneered.
I will not let myself become the victim of a twisted Happily Ever After. Aeris silently vowed, I won't. Even if it means my death.
Sephiroth was woken up by a loud roar. He leapt to his feet and dashed to the window just in time to see a group of men vanish over the horizon. The roar had come from Blossom who was using her fire breath and her razor-sharp claws to rend and burn away the giant net that somehow had been thrown over her.
Sephiroth had a bad feeling about what had happened while he slept.
"Blossom! Where's Aeris?" Sephiroth yelled.
A snarl was his only response as the dragon finished freeing herself from the net and prepared to take off after the group of raiders.
"Wait, take me with you, I can help!" Sephiroth desperately called.
The dragon turned her head to glare at Sephiroth and let out an unconvinced snort, as if saying why should you care?
"I know that you don't trust me, but you have to believe me, I love her!" Sephiroth pleaded, the enormity of his feelings for the brunette mage finally hitting him.
Blossom shook her head, small bursts of fire escaping her mouth.
"Please, I don't care if you put me back in this tower afterwards, just let me help. I know where they're going, I saw them just before they vanished from sight."
The dragon took a moment to contemplate her options. Her only friend was in danger and this male that she had really come to loath was offering to help. She didn't know where the group of soldiers was going, but the Crown Prince did. Taking him along would only slow her down, but without his help she might not find Aeris. There was no scent trail to follow. Blossom grumbled in frustration, she had no choice but to take the irritating human male along.
Sephiroth stumbled back when Blossom flew up to the window and hooked one sharp, curved claw into his clothing and yanked him out of the tower, the other front leg clutching the tower for balance as Blossom dragged the prince out of his prison.
A stomach churning flight later, Sephiroth was dropped to the ground unceremoniously by the dragon. He looked around and quickly realized that he was in Blossom's den. Off in the corner was a modest pile of glittering treasures that Blossom grudgingly kept in accordance to tradition.
It was unheard of for a dragon not to have a hoard of treasure.
Sephiroth spotted something unusual lying in the middle of the tiny hoard. Walking over he hefted the object up and a smile spread across his face.
"Now this is a sword!" he gleefully announced.
Not like that piece of pot metal my fairy godmother "bestowed" upon me, he thought sourly, heading back to Blossom who was impatiently waiting for him.
He strapped the harness to his back, adjusting it until it was comfortable and then vaulted up onto Blossom's back, settling right between the dragons' shoulders. Blossom tried halfheartedly to shake him off but Sephiroth's seat on the dragon was firm.
"This is first time I have ever ridden a dragon," he mused.
He should have expected for Blossom to make Sephiroth's ride as uncomfortable as possible.
Time seemed to have no meaning as Aeris drifted in and out of restless slumber. She had a terrible thirst, her stomach was cramping in hunger and her whole body was aching from being lashed over the back of the pack horse that was carrying her as if she were a piece of luggage.
After her first confrontation with Rufus, Aeris remained silent and seemingly docile. Between her bouts of unconsciousness, Aeris spent her time trying to loosen her bonds with body subtle movements when she knew the others weren't looking.
She was weary, hungry, thirsty, and absolutely furious. That vile man should have never been able to get past her wards, not to mention Blossom herself. Aeris knew that foul work was at play behind her kidnapping and once she got free, she would track down the culprits and flay them within an inch of their lives, that or let Blossom have at them. Either way, they were dead.
It was too much of a coincidence that this happened just a week before her twenty second birthday. In the fairy tales, there were three magical ages that young maidens found their happily-ever-afters: sixteen, eighteen and twenty-one. If one reached their twenty-second birthday without having a fairytale take hold of them, they became free of its influence for good, finally able to make their own destinies.
Aeris didn't know how Rufus had found her. She had run away from home on her sixteenth birthday, thereby avoiding their handfasting ceremony. She had taken over her former teacher's position in Bracken Hold on her eighteenth birthday once she found the crone cold in her bed. At that point, she had thought herself free of her accursed fairytale destiny. The next three, almost four years Aeris reminded herself, were spent establishing her reputation as an Evil Sorceress by placing maidens in peril, sending Blossom to thwart the missions of Knights in Shinning Armor, and making merry hell of the quests of noble champions, wannabe heroes and the odd Prince Charming.
Then, six months ago, she saw him, the Prince Charming to Celab's Sleeping Beauty. Instantly she knew that he would be a formidable opponent if she didn't play her cards right. She also knew that he was absolutely not suited to Princess Tifa in any manner. So she had pulled off some fancy footwork, got the most incompetent Fairy Godmother assigned to Crown Prince Sephiroth Kennard Ceadmon Valentine and watched as Yuffie, his fairy godmother (on her first assignment), made his life a living nightmare.
She had enjoyed messing with his quest immensely, taking in particular pleasure when she faced him outside the sleeping capital. Blossom wasn't involved in his particular adventure, since Aeris had been too absorbed in the unfolding quest herself to notice.
Obviously her friend had been a bit miffed about not having the chance to fight the Crown Prince so when she saw the disgraced Prince Charming walk out of the city, she struck. Bringing Sephiroth to her had been the dragon's way of showing Aeris not to forget her. Aeris immediately knew that while his Prince Charming magic had been diminished, he was still a danger to upsetting the Happily-Ever-Afters of her other "clients". So into the tower room he was locked and there he stayed despite two failed escape attempts until she started letting him outside.
Aeris had always prided herself on being able to take care of herself, never needing the help of one from a male protagonist that she frequently worked against. Growing up in the castle it had always been:
"Playing with the servants was not befitting for someone of your station."
"It is unseemly for you to run around in trousers and climb trees, what would your betrothed think?"
"A Lady should always act composed, demure, courteous and never speak until spoken to."
"This is for your own good, we can't have you running about like some peasant or wild creature."
"I pity Prince Rufus, having to wed such an uncontrollable creature. It will be a relief when you become his responsibility and not ours."
And so on.
Was it any wonder that she rejected her fairytale destiny? It didn't help matters that her betrothed was an absolute lout who treated women, children, servants and animals like dirt, having no care for anything but the enjoyment of him and his band of underlings. So really, running away from home had been her only option really, unless she wanted to marry the little prick.
She had always been an independent child, something that caused her care takers no little amount of grief, so it seemed natural for her to become the very antithesis of what she had been born as. Aeris loved being an Evil Sorceress, it was wicked fun and gave her a sense of satisfaction when self-important males like Rufus fell flat on their faces and the objects of their greed got the happily ever after they wanted.
She had never needed or wanted to be coddled by some male, to play the role of damsel in distress, to have to be rescued by a hero or champion. It had been a personal motto of sorts for her.
That was until she fell in love. Suddenly, being cared for, comforted and protected at times by a man didn't seem like it was such a bad thing as long as it was Sephiroth. For the first time in her life, she wanted to make a man happy, make him feel needed and loved. But such things were hard for her, always having to rely on her own skills for the longest time. She found that she couldn't let Sephiroth, no matter how much she loved him, become her protector, her champion. She kept their roles clearly defined: Evil Sorceress and her captive Prince Charming that she was trying to corrupt.
She could really use a Champion right now. Her heart ached for her prince.
So instead of wailing in despair or docilely letting her captors treat her as they wished like a normal damsel in distress, Aeris was trying her damnedest to free herself so she could make good her escape. If it came it to it, Aeris would keep her self-made vow, until then she was going to try her hardest to get away.
Three days passed until they finally spotted a sign of the party that had abducted Aeris. The abandoned campfire that they had not even bothered to conceal was still smoldering slightly. These men were either stupid or foolishly arrogant that they could not be followed. Privately Sephiroth thought that they were both.
Judging by the fire, he was less than one day behind them if one was traveling by foot. Good thing that he was not traveling by foot, those idiots would have no idea what hit them when Blossom caught up with them in a few hours. Sephiroth grinned ferally, he could hardly wait to teach the lot of them a much needed lesson.
Aeris must be rubbing off on me, Sephiroth thought as he mounted Blossom, I find myself becoming downright evil these days. Why I can hear their screams of terror already.
Screams of terror was exactly what she had awakened to. The camp was in disarray, the whinnies of terrorized horses was everywhere, and the smell of burnt flesh and freshly shed blood was in the air. It could mean only one thing: Blossom had found her and was wrecking havoc on Rufus and his men.
It certainly wouldn't be fair to let Blossom have all the fun, Aeris thought as she jerked her arms and snapped the frayed cords that she had been sawing away at with a jagged rock after the men had fallen asleep.
After freeing her hands, Aeris made quick work of the rest of her restraints and disappeared into the chaos, looking for Rufus. She fully intended on pounding him into submission before retrieving the key to the collar. With her magic released, Aeris would take her time with him, before she turned his brains to oatmeal and sending him and his cronies back to his kingdom as toads, a fitting fate for such an odious group of humans.
Rufus shook a skinny, nervous little man wearing a ratty brown robe.
"You told me that the charm would keep the dragon from following us!" he growled.
'But-but, Your Highness, I told you that it would disguise the scent of your party," the little hedge wizard stuttered, "it is beyond my abilities to repel a dragon."
"I paid you to good money for your services and now you have failed to deliver," Rufus threw the man to the ground, "if you are unable to do as you promised, you are worthless to me."
"Your Highness, please! I-" he ended with a gurgle as Rufus plunged his sword into the cowering figure's chest.
"Can't believe that I wasted good money on that pile of rubbish," he flicked the thin blood off of his blade, "I'm surrounded by incompetents."
"Or maybe that's just you," an unfamiliar voice drawled.
"Who the fuck are you? How did you get here?" Rufus demanded.
"Me?" the man shrugged as he strode up to him, a long bloodstained katana in his hand, "I'm no one you need to know, as to how I got here, well… you can say that I came with the dragon."
Rufus barely had time to block the other man's strike with his own sword.
Straining against the other's strength, Rufus heard him say, "but you forgot the most important question: Why am I here?"
"That's easy," Rufus snorted as he abruptly stopped pushing his sword against the stranger's incredibly long blade, "you're obviously one of the Evil Sorceress' cronies come to rescue your master."
"I have no master!" Sephiroth snarled as he swung his sword upwards.
Rufus barely dodged the swing and had to scramble back to avoid being decapitated by the man's follow up strike. Overhead, Blossom was having the time of her life rending, tearing and roasting her opponents as they feebly tried to fight back.
"You're only so cocky because you have the dragon on your side," Rufus taunted, "I wonder how you would fare should the beast become disabled?"
"Touch one scale on her hide and Aeris will strangle you with your own guts," Sephiroth growled, his sea green eyes glowing.
His eyes weren't the only thing that was glowing. The prince's entire body was glowing faintly, as he fought with the rival prince, swords clanging, taunts being exchanged as they cut each other up.
"What the hell are you, you freak?!" Rufus demanded when he finally noticed Sephiroth's glow.
"A genuine Prince Charming at the height of his power!" the answer came from behind him.
"You! How did you get free?" Rufus whirled about to see Aeris smirking at him.
"It looks as if you didn't need my help after all," Sephiroth commented as he took in her raw wrists and bloodied knuckles, "knock out a few teeth on your way here?"
"That and more," she answered over the silently fuming Rufus.
Turning her attention back to Rufus she greeted him, "hello toad."
"Now Aeris, is that anyway to speak to me?" he asked.
"If the name fits" she pointed out, "besides, weren't you engaged in a fight to the death?"
"Wha?" was all he got out before Sephiroth's fist came crashing into the back of the other prince's head. Aeris shot Sephiroth a grin and strode over to Rufus.
"Now then, where is that key?" Aeris mumbled as she searched Rufus's body, finally she found it, "Ah-hah! Found the little bugger. That is so like him to keep it in his belt pouch where anyone would think to look. Arrogance thy name is Rufus."
There was a small click and the collar fell to the ground. Her magic flared around her with the sudden removal of the collar which had sealed it and Aeris let out a contented sigh.
She looked down at the fallen form of Rufus, "I think being a toad would be too good for this oaf. Some stupid girl with stars in her eyes could accidentally fall across him and mistake him for a frog and break the spell with a Kiss of True Love. No, I think being a slug is much more fitting to his nature."
"You truly are evil," Sephiroth chuckled.
Aeris sneered theatrically and gave the prince a quick once-over.
"Nice sword," Aeris noticed, "where did it come from?"
"Blossom's hoard," he replied.
"Blossom actually let you into her lair?" Aeris asked incredulous.
"Made a deal with her, I help rescue you and then I go back into the tower," Sephiroth admitted.
"How noble of you Prince Charming." She batted her eyes, "making deals with dragons. What next? Consorting with trolls and goblins?"
"Hardly, trolls are as dumb as rocks and goblins stink, neither make for good company really," he sidled closer to Aeris, "unlike a witty, self-confidant, and entirely too smart and charming Evil Sorceress I know."
"Have you been seeing Evilene behind my back?" she asked with mock anger, "I guess that I will have to make sure that everyone knows just who's prisoner you are."
"Of course not, I'm a one Evil Sorceress type of guy," he was less than two inches in front of her.
Anyone could have predicted what came next. The air around them took on a soft glow, time slowed, the world seemed to hold it breath as they gazed into each other's eyes…and they both took fistfuls of the other's hair and yanked the other's head to them to meet in a brutal, consuming kiss that looked more like they were waging war on the other than making love with their lips.
They growled at the same time, Sephiroth's arms pulling Aeris flush to his chest, Aeris' legs locking in place around Sephiroth's waist, neither willing to release the other. And then something strange happened.
The torn, dirty and bloodstained clothing (well only bloody in Sephiroth's case) that they were wearing faded away to be replaced with the glittering, color-coordinated, royal fairy tale finery that only comes into existence during True Love's First Kiss.
Aeris was wearing a shoulderless gown that clung to her curves with loose, gauzy flowing sleeves that gently brushed against the ground. Sephiroth was wearing tight, black leather pants, black leather boots that came up to his knees, and a regal silk shirt under a black leather vest (seeing a trend here?). His shirt and Aeris' dress were both sea-green at the top, gradually fading into a deep, dark purple at the bottom. A black cape with a dark purple interior hung from Sephiroth's shoulders and the ratnest that had been Aeris' hair was now transformed into a loose, elegant twist that let her chestnut locks fall in silky waves to her waist.
Of course neither of them noticed this transformation, being too caught up in trying to eat the other's face off. No, it was only when a smooth, cool circlet formed on her brow when Aeris noticed that something was different. Reluctantly she pulled away from Sephiroth and took a moment to take it all in.
The look of shock and awe on Sephiroth's face as he looked at her new attire would have been amusing at any other time, but right now, right when she felt that for once everything was as it should be in the world, all Aeris could feel was a surge of powerful, almost foreign emotions welling up from her heart, consuming her entirely.
"I never thought…I never knew that you were actually a princess," he spoke softly, reaching up to caress her face.
Aeris normally would have been offended by such a statement, but caught in the magic of her very own fairy tale ending, it made her heart melt. There was something about fairy tale magic that made such things, like them being a prince and princess, very important when it came to moments such as these.
"You are so beautiful," Sephiroth whispered, leaning in.
"And you are so handsome," she murmured in reply.
This time when they kissed, it was everything that a True Love's First Kiss was meant to be. Hearts fluttering in their throats, love overwhelming them making their knees weak and their toes curl, they closed their eyes as their lips met softly, pouring their feelings into the other from that lightest of contact. Aeris' long dormant Princess magic awoke and flared about her, mixing with Sephiroth's Prince Charming magic creating a scene that was lovely and enchanting beyond belief.
Then the kiss ended and the magic faded away along with their magical fairytale clothing, leaving only the gleaming circlet on Aeris' brow and a small gold crown on Sephiroth's head behind his arcing bangs.
It was over, no longer were they Prince Charming and the Fair Maiden. They were only Aeris and Sephiroth, Evil Sorceress and her silver-haired love.
"Now to unfinished business," Aeris smirked as she turned to the still unconscious Rufus.
Aeris walked back over to the fallen man, stopping a few feet away. She waved her hands and muttered darkly, a fell wind starting to swirl around her. Aeris traced a few dark grey runes into air as she continued to chant and then placed both of her hands on Rufus' shoulders. The corrupt prince let out a moan and then he was obscured by a sudden flare of smoke. When the smoke cleared Rufus was gone and a small banana yellow slug was in his place. Another wave of her hand transported the slug to the cold, moist northern forests where millions of the species lived, making it almost impossible to find the transformed prince should anyone search for him.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her when she was done.
"Well, I am an Evil Sorceress after all," she explained.
"Yes, yes you are," a hungry gleam came into his eyes, "and I think that it is high time that this Evil Sorceress gets punished for her misdeeds."
"Mmmm, I'm thinking more along the lines of the Evil Sorceress ravishing her handsome prisoner," she purred.
"How about we do both?" he suggested.
Whatever Aeris would have said was cut off by Blossom swooping down scooping Sephiroth up in her claws and flying back in the direction of Bracken Fortress. His indignant yelling caused Aeris to cackle madly. The dragon made another ground-brushing dive and Aeris snagged Blossom's leg and shimmied her way up to her normal seat between the dragon's shoulders easily as Blossom beat her wings heavily to gain altitude.
While it was amusing to glance down and see Sephiroth cursing and ranting at Blossom, Aeris didn't really think that he deserved to make the trip back home being carried in claws. With a snap of her fingers Aeris transported Sephiroth behind her. Then they were on their way, Sephiroth whispering naughty things into her ear as they flew off into the sunset.
And they lived Happily Ever After.
Epilogue
The next few weeks had been filled with activity as Aeris and Sephiroth contacted their respective parents and told them of their impending union. Aeris's parents, the King and Queen of a small but prosperous rich country along the southern coast had not been happy to learn that their daughter had turned her betrothed into a slug but their attitude quickly improved when they learned that the recently unbetrothed Crown Prince of Norder was to be her husband.
Trade treaties were already being written up when the royal couple announced that neither of them were even remotely interested in ruling their respective countries, ceding their crowns to Aeris' cousin Jessie and Sephiroth's younger brother Zax. There was no way on earth that Aeris would ever stop being an Evil Sorceress and Sephiroth decided that being the Crown Prince was not what he was cut out to be.
Suffice it to say, neither set of parents were very happy. On the plus side when Jessie and Zax met during the Renouncment Ceremony, sparks seemed to fly between the two, literally. In fact their parents/guardians had barely prevented the pair of teens from burning down a tavern that they had snuck out of castle to go to.
For most of her childhood Aeris' parents had despaired about making a proper princess out of their daughter, with Jessie they never tried since it was obvious from the start it was a lost cause. With Jessie now being the heir, they worried about the future of their kingdom's reputation.
Since both Sephiroth's and Aeris' parents had been cheated out a Crown Heir each, they demanded that would be married in the proper royal fashion. The planning had been going smoothly for two weeks when Aeris became fed up and spirited Sephiroth away on dragonback to elope.
After that stunt, both parents cut off contact with their disreputable offspring. The Evil Sorceress and her Consort seemed fine with that.
And they lived Happily Ever After.
Epliogue 2.0
The morning after their wedding night in Bracken Hold
The birds were singing sweetly, greeting the lovely dawn. Sephiroth was standing next to the large picture window in Aeris' bedroom watching the pale colors of the rising sun chase away the lingering night.
Aeris was watching her new husband, having much more fun watching him than the sunrise.
Last night had been magical. Passion and shared love guided their every action, but a sense of wickedness gave their bouts of lovemaking an extra delicious and satisfactory edge. Aeris had also given her husband one last wedding gift while he was asleep and was eagerly waiting for him to discover it.
Sephiroth stretched his pleasantly sore muscles and let out a yawn. His hand went to the back of his neck to relieve an itch there and his fingers encountered a band of soft leather instead of skin. He traced it around his neck to find that it had no ties or clasps, it was a continuous piece.
It also had a little metal plate on the front that he was sure that said something like Property of the Evil Sorceress Aeris.
"Aeris, why am I wearing a collar?" he asked annoyed, tugging at it to try and get it off. The collar didn't budge, it was spelled to not be able to be removed by anyone but Aeris.
His wife giggled.
"This is about that comment about Evilene I made a few days ago isn't it?" he asked resigned.
The Evil Sorceress smirked and went back to sleep.
Sephiroth groaned.
And they lived Happily Ever After (in an evil sort of way).
The End.
For real this time.
The collar never did come off, much to Sephiroth's continual irritation.
After over three months since I started this fic, it is finally (at long last complete). I won't be posting another one for quite sometime, due to the lack of any sort of computer access over the summer. The next (and maybe the last) one to be posted is a reply to a reviewer challenge word prompt. It will be called "Distance".
Thank you for reading my latest fic, hope you enjoyed it and please leave me a review on your way out.
