We do not own Harry Potter, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Silver Dreams, or Inuyasha. Nor do we own what ever else we decide to put in this story, or forgot to mention. The only things we own is the stuff that we came up with are selves!

CHAPTER 1

The Snake in the Glass

Over a period of ten years, the family of number 13, Floral Street looked like the typical British family of three. At least, that's what they looked like to the public eye. The child that was left for them to take care of slept in a closet under the stairs with the lock on the outside, but other then that, there was no evidence of a child in that home. Except for the son of Walter and Abigail Fiore. At that moment, her Aunt Abigail woke up the girl violently. The vent on the door, which acted as her only window, and could be only opened from the outside, snapped open with her aunt yelling through the slits in the vent, and rapping at the door.

"Up!" she shouted, "Get up!'

She let out a sigh, then rapped at the door again to prevent the child from going back to sleep.

"Now!" barked Aunt Abigail, then she snapped the lock open and walked off into the kitchen, slamming the door behind her. Her niece was very much awake, but she wished that she could go back to sleep. She had dreamed that she was playing with eleven other children her age that were almost like her in a way. At least, they were as different. In real life, she didn't have any friends. She turned on the light in her closet, and started fixing her long hair into a braid (which took a very short time considering its length). Then, just as she was pinning it into a flat bun, someone, about 68 to 90 kilograms in weight, started running down the steps. "Brandon," she thought. Then he turned around and ran back up them, laughing his head off. The girl's ceiling creaked horribly with every quick and heavy step the boy took, and a lot of the dust up there loosened. Then the heavyset boy jumped from stair to stair. His cousin wouldn't have been surprised her a bit if he fell through them from jumping on them so much, but she was amazed on the fact that the structure of those steps could take so much abuse.

"Wake up, Annie!" shouted Brandon, focusing all his weight on the step directly above his cousin's head, "We're going to the zoo!"

The girl, known as Annie Gray, rolled her eyes. She was so caught up in her dream, that she forgot that it was Brandon's birthday. Not that she would complain (especially sense she would have been beaten by her uncle if she did so), But on rare cases when she had to go out with the Fiores to celebrate with them; something would almost always happen that would give her a beating and get her locked in her closet for an indefinite period of time.

Annie had finished pinning a brown wig in her hair, and barely set foot in the hallway when she heard Brandon let out a cruel laugh, and caught her in the stomach as he shoved her back in the closet. He also kicked the door closed in her face before he ran into the kitchen. Annie opened the door again and walked into the kitchen as well, rubbing the back of her head (which had hit the wall when she fell back).

"Here comes the Birthday Boy!" she heard Aunt Abigail in the baby voice she only used for Brandon. Annie wasn't surprised by what she heard, but hearing her aunt talk to her son in that manner was always sickening to her.

"Happy birthday, son," said her uncle, Alfred, as Annie entered the kitchen. She starred at her stepfamily for a second, thinking about how different she was from them, or from the whole world, as far as she knew.

Annie wasn't at all like the Fiores, both physically, and ethically, as well as ethically. Uncle Alfred, a heavy-set man with graying hair and a mustache, was a supervisor for a company that made what Annie called widgets (because the products that were manufactured were way beyond useless and pointless). He saw nothing wrong with a "good beating" wen used to correct a child's behavior, and would go out bingeing on occasions, always coming home very drunk. Aunt Abigail was thin and bony, and had a lot of stretch marks all over her body that suggested that she was as large as the rest of her family when she was a child. Brandon was a fat boy with short, dark hair that was slightly curly, and eyelashes that were longer then average maybe it was because he looked more like a girl then a boy, or because he almost always got what he wanted, no one knows. But ever sense his first day of school, he was one of the meanest boys in the neighborhood as well as one of the stupidest, although his parents never knew about any of this.

Annie, on the other hand, was an adorable little girl who was very polite, had a fluid walk, graceful mannerisms, and was very talented in arts like drawing, singing, poetry, and (her most often used skill), acting. Annie was also very odd physically. She had a structure that was a bit taller then average, her long hair was a colour that could be only described as Aquarian-pink, and her naturally curled bangs had a parting in the middle that was the shape of a heart. She also had moonlit eyes that were a silvery rainbow blue, like a sapphire or a kaleidoscope, and were usually softly focused, as if she was looking at some distant point. Annie also had a strange mark on her forehead. It was a purple, twelve pointed nova that looked more like a scar then anything. It was large enough to touch her hairline, and could almost reach her eyebrows. Inside the 'scar', perfectly visible, was a gold-coloured birthmark that was shaped like an upward-pointing crescent. However, despite her exotic adorably, she did have a lot of things to draw away from her bizarre, yet charming features. For starters, Annie had to ware a brown wig over her hair, as it couldn't be dyed (a number of attempts and a few pounds in hair-colouring products and were spent to prove it). She also had to ware a lot of makeup to hide the marks on her forehead.

Annie had dark circles under her eyes, as she was frequently tired, even in the times when she did get a good night's sleep (she was usually kept up by the sound of rodents in the walls, or the horrible draft in the corner near her left foot). Then there was the fact that the Fiores gave her the smallest of meal portions, even if she was the one serving and cooking it. Everyone always ate so much that all Annie could get would get were the leftovers, and Brandon always stole more then half of her food. She always went hungry when she went to sleep. Because she was frequently locked in her closet for long periods of time, she was not only dangerously thin from starvation, but very pale from lack of fresh air. Annie also had a lot of bruises on her from either Brandon and his friends hitting her (which she could get away from more easily as she was a fast and fluid sprinter). Or Uncle Alfred, who Annie couldn't get away from so easily, as he would grab hold of her before she could move. In spite of the fact that all the abuse made her look frail.

If she could, she would easily defend herself, as well as break a few bones. Annie was a Black Belt in Martial Arts, like Karate, Jujitsu, tai chi, and Kick- boxing. She could even use a few weapons (her favorites being the Katana, the Jin sward, and the bow and arrow). The only reason why she didn't use those skills was because she would lose what little access she had to learning. When she was six, the Fiores removed Annie from school because she was at the top of the class while Brandon was considered one of the worst students in the school. His parents, thinking that Annie had cheated, copied Brandon's work, switched papers, and who knows what other answers to why Brandon "couldn't take the pressure of being with someone like Annie," removed her from school. Brandon had forced his cousin to do his homework for him while Annie had to stay at home.

In time, while Uncle Walter was at work and Aunt Abigail went down the street for tea, Annie took to going down a few blocks to the public library; Never checking out any books, and returning home before anyone else did. It took very little time for her to teach herself, not only the school curriculum, but also a lot of the things that most people didn't learn until after years at a university. It wasn't very long before Annie (if she was still in school) could have been considered to be a child prodigy. She could already solve complex calculus problems, knew advanced geography and history, was gifted in science (particularly in astronomy and technology), and could read stories like Moby Dick, and authors like William Shakespeare in original dialogue before she was eight. She was also fluent in reading, writing, and speaking Japanese, Latin, German, and a little French. But despite her many mental, physical, and ethical graces, she was no more then the servant in the household.

"How is my little Brandykins?" Aunt Abigail continued in that ridiculously gigglish baby voice. Then she realized that Annie was there. With an unpleasant surprise did Annie return to reality. It was almost constant for her to find herself in a dream, weather she was awake or asleep, as it was her main escape from her horrid life.

"Stop daydreaming and put yourself to good use instead of standing around I've been at this stove for ten minutes already," barked Aunt Abigail. "Why don't cook breakfast like you were supposed to and do try not to burn anything."

"Yes, Aunt Abigail," said Annie, hurrying to the stove to finish fixing the ham, Although her voice had the capability of being heard in a large and crowded room, it was unusually quiet most of the time, like a rabbit, in a way.

"I want everything to be perfect," Aunt Abigail continued, this time in that stupid baby voice while leading Brandon to the other side of the kitchen with his eyes covered, "for Brandon's special day!"

As Annie started serving breakfast, Uncle Alfred first as always, he now started bossing her.

"Hurry up!" he commanded. Annie tried getting the plate to him as fast as she could without dropping anything. "And bring my coffee, girl," he clamored.

"Yes, Uncle Alfred," she answered, laying the food in its proper place. Then she grabbed the coffeepot for her uncle just as Aunt Abigail uncovered Brandon's eyes.

Before him was a mound of presents; much larger then was normal for little boys to receive. But instead of jumping up and down, yelling with joy, or any sound of excitement from the amount of gifts, as most children would have done, his expression became cross, as if something was missing. At that moment, Aunt Abigail saw his expression.

"Aren't they wonderful?" she asked, hoping that Brandon would calm down a bit, but then he turned to his father.

"How many are there?" Brandon demanded.

"Thirty-six," answered Uncle Alfred, smiling, "counted them myself."

"Thirty-six?" screamed Brandon. "Thirty-six!?! But, last year! Last year, there were thirty-seven!"

As Annie poured Uncle Alfred his coffee, she rolled her eyes. Uncle Alfred tried to reason with his son.

"Yes, well, some of these presents are a lot bigger and a bit more valuable then last year's," he said.

"I don't care how big they are!" bellowed Brandon. Annie sensed that her cousin was about to start a tantrum, so she prepared to duck if he started to throw things around the room. Aunt Abigail seemed to notice the same warning signs. She crouched down in front of her son and said, "Now, now, now, here's what we're going to do, when we go out, we're going to stop and buy you two more presents. How's that, pudding?"

Annie shook her head. This tactic was very common when it came to calming Brandon. While most children were happy with the gifts, they received for their holidays (Annie herself would have been happy enough just to receive something, as she had almost never received a present in her life). Brandon always wanted the same number as the last year, if not more. To him, gifts on Christmas, his birthday, or any holiday, were forms of payment for simply existing. He was so spoiled, that he would be paid for Annie doing all the housework. She couldn't stand him, but as much as Annie disliked Brandon, she would worry about him at these times how he would live when he was old enough to move away from his parents.

After Breakfast (of witch she ate less then usual, as it was Brandon's birthday), Annie got dressed in an old blue frock that had many holes (most of them repaired with iron-on embroidery designs that were carelessly sown on), a red shirt that was just as warn and moth-eaten, and a warn denim hat that was the old 1970's style, and it had pockets on the side that could carry small amounts of money. Of all the clothing she had, the only one Annie liked was this particular hat. She had to look through the attic to get her clothes, and when she was three, she found this hat in an old trunk full of old clothes, half of them looked as if they used to belong to a boy. At first, she thought that they were Uncle Alfred's; then she saw the hat that was on top of the stack.

It was the hat and the inside of it had the name of Eli Gray embroidered in the inside. Annie then asked Aunt Abigail who Eli was. Aunt Abigail was very angry, but decided to tell her niece that he was her older brother, and Annie's father, but she seemed to have bitter memories of him, as her tone was harsh and sharp. Abigail took most of her brother's old clothes to donate them the next day, but she let Annie keep the hat. Maybe it was because Eli was family, or he may helped her when Abigail was young, or that was all she had to remember him by. Annie did not know. It made her aunt very upset though, so she didn't push the point.

The Fiores and Annie made their way out to the car. Aunt Abigail and Brandon were already seated.

"This will be a lovely day at the zoo," said Aunt Abigail. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Annie was about to get in when Uncle Alfred closed the car door in her face.

"Normally, I would take you to Ms. Sensai's instead of brining you along, but since she's ill. I'm warning you now, missy," said Uncle Alfred, waving his keys in her face and a growl in his voice, "any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for another week. Understand?" "Yes, sir, Uncle Alfred," said Annie.

"Get in," he commanded, walking over to the driver's side.

Now, Annie wasn't the type to be a trouble maker, mostly because of her frequent and cruel punishments. But the fact was, she was always around if something strange or mysterious happened. When she was five, Aunt Abigail had tried to cut off all of Annie's hair to make the wig fit better. In the end, she still had all her hair, but she was forced to stay in her closet for twenty-four hours for ruining her Aunt's best pair of scissors. Then, on Brandon's seventh half-birthday, the Fiores went out to get more ice cream and left Annie and Brandon alone with his friends. Unfortunately, they managed to corner her before she could get away. Then, they tied her tightly to a chair and tried to put a wad of paper that Brandon lit in her mouth. All that Annie could remember after that was screaming as loud as she could, seeing a flash of gold light, then waking up on the other side of the yard, in the rain, with no sign of the chair or the rope, a creator in the same exact spot where she was tied, and Brandon with his friends staying as far from the site as possible.

Yet, despite her pleas and yells, as she was beaten y Alfred, then shut in her closet for two weeks and three days. The extra days had been for supposedly lying about the Fiores' perfect son, she couldn't explain that she couldn't explain what had happened. After a while, she theorized that she had been struck by ball lightning, although her recovery was almost instant, far too fast for a lightning strike victim. Then, just last Christmas, a large storm had ruined all the holiday decorations that were usually hung in the town square. They did manage to get replacements, but by that time, it was too late to put them up. That night, Uncle Alfred had gone to a Christmas Social, and didn't come home until late that evening. Brandon had long sense gone to bed, but Annie stayed up to get the door for them. As soon as Uncle Alfred set foot in the house, he started thrashing at poor Annie for no reason.

It was obvious that he had too much liquor, but it took a while for Annie to get away. She managed to lock herself in her closet, and had gone to sleep as to escape. She had dreamed that she had danced in the snow. Then levitated all of the new Christmas decorations into the air put them in their proper places and light up the whole square while Mannheim Steamroller's version of "Carol of The Bells" filled the air. When it came on the news that The Town Square was decorated over night, Annie was very shocked. Fortunately, she wasn't punished for once. Because many these peculiar things seemed linked with her, Annie was usually left with Ms. Sensai, an elderly Japanese woman who looked like everyone's grandmother. She was also very helpful to Annie, as it was she who trained her the art of oriental combat. However, she was sick in bed that day, and the Fiores didn't want Annie "spreading disease throughout the household." At this point in her thoughts, the sound of the engine starting brought her back to her seat in the here and now.

At first, the morning was a miracle for Annie, as nothing strange had happened. On the way, she was allowed to roll down her window, as the air conditioner was broken. They managed to go through the primate, elephant, bird, and large cat exhibits with no problems, except for Brandon's frequent demands for the animals to be more active. Around lunch time, it started raining with the low rumble of thunder in the air. Annie had always loved thunderstorms, and would sneak out of the house just to dance in a storm. She would also be careful as to wipe away mud and dirt, as well as slip into the bathroom to clean her-self up, all without being caught. However, as the Fiores hated the rain, Annie had to go past some students from some private school to catch up with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, who were going into the reptile house. It wasn't too long until Murphy's Law of disaster set in the most unusual ways.

They had stopped to look at a thirty-foot-long South American Anaconda that was asleep in its tank. Annie noticed a particularly large and wet scale that was dead center in the middle of its head. It looked a lot like an eye to Annie, but no one else seemed to notice it. Brandon's face then soured with disinterest.

"Make it move," he commanded his father.

"Move!" yelled Uncle Alfred, rapping at the glass with his knuckle. The snake, however, just ignored him as if he didn't exist.

"MOVE!" shouted Brandon, now smacking the glass as hard as he could.

"He's asleep!" said Annie.

"He's boring," Sulked Brandon, then he and his parents moved on to see the other reptiles while his cousin stayed behind.

"Sorry about him," said Annie to the snake. "He just doesn't understand what it's like, lying there day after day, watching people press there ugly faces in at you."

At that moment, the snake opened its eyes, lifted its head a bit, and it winked. Not only with it's normal eye, but what Annie thought was a large shiny scale was a real eye, as it also closed with the left one.

Annie's eyes widened with amazement. As she wasn't aloud to speak of anything factious, and because she studied a lot, Annie was a girl of science, as well as one of dreams. Nevertheless, the concept of a human having the ability to converse with snakes was impossible. Yet now, she was doing something so surreal, that it was like something from a dream.

"Can you hear me?" asked Annie, gently resting her hand on the glass, still starring at the three-eyed serpent in wonder.

The snake rose it's head until it was level with Annie's, then it nodded. Annie continued to stare at it, then remembered her manners.

"I beg your pardon," said Annie, bowing slightly, "It's just that, I've never talked to a snake before, and I know it's not polite to stare. You are a very lovely reptile. Do you? I mean. Do you talk to people often?"

The snake flickered its tongue slightly, then shook its head, blinking all of its eyes. Annie continued the conversation.

"I don't mean to be rude, but were you rescued by the zoo?"

Again, the snake shook its head. Then it arched it's back for a moment, as if it was shrugging it's shoulders (if it had any), almost like it was inquiring why Annie asked that question.

"I'm sorry, I was just curious about the eye on your forehead. I have something like that as well. Have you always had that?"

Then, surprisingly, the snake nodded.

"Do you know other snakes with three eyes?" The snake nodded its head again, then pointed the tip of it's tail at another tank directly across from it. The snake inside that one was a boa constrictor, and it too had a third eye in the middle of its forehead. Next, the anaconda pointed its tail at the tank to its left. The garden snake inside it had three eyes as well. No sooner did Annie get a good look at it, then the anaconda point to a diamond back rattlesnake on the left across the hall. It had three eyes, too. Then it lower it's tail. Annie looked at other snakes, to see if all of them had three eyes that she missed. A lot of them did, so she turned back to the anaconda to learn more.

"Do all snakes have three eyes?" she asked.

To her surprise, the snake shook its head, then pointed to a snake that Annie didn't notice before. It was a viper, and it had only two eyes. Annie didn't really like vipers, and she didn't like the look that one was giving her, so she turned back to the other snake.

"I've read books about snakes and seen illustrations and photographs of them, but everything says that snakes only have two eyes. Why can't people see the third one?

The snake arched its neck again, like shrugging, only this time it looked as if it was saying I don't know.

"Has anyone else noticed it?" asked Annie.

The snake shook its head again.

"So only I can see it" she told herself.

Annie could tell that her companion was getting bored with the conversation, so she chose a new topic.

"Your from the Amazon rain forest, aren't you," said Annie, remembering what she read from an encyclopedia long ago. "Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?"

All her questions were answered as the snake sadly turned its head to the right. Beside the tank, there was a small sign that said:
Bred in Captivity.

"Oh," said Annie, "I'm so sorry. I'm the same. I never knew my parents, either."

"Mum! Dad! Come here! You won't believe what this snake is doing!"

It was Brandon. He ran over to the tank, and shoved Annie so hard that she skidded on the smooth concrete floor. She wasn't hurt too badly (physically speaking, that is), but as Annie starred at her brat of a cousin, gaping at the beautiful serpent that she was actually making friends with for the first time in her life, a combination of emotional hurt and anger started pulsating through her. She had tried, as long as she could remember, to make at least one friend in her life. And each time, Brandon always-shoved Annie aside, bullied others into avoiding her, or else saying awful things about her. It was a very rare moment if she wished ill will to fall upon someone, but she had had enough. Annie had always believed in a thing called Karma, or the belief that what you ever do in life comes right back at you in one form or another. Right now, she wished that something would happen that would make Brandon feel the embarrassment, the humiliation, and the shame that she had known for most of her life. She imagined the snake going through the glass, and being free to go to South America, Brandon losing his "I'm-a-tough-guy" attitude and behaving like a young child, the way he did when ever he saw a spider.

At that exact moment, something unexpected and extraordinary happened. At first, Brandon was leaning against the glass, gawking at the magnificent serpent. Then, in a split second, the glass in front of him disappeared. As Brandon's weight was no longer being supported by his center of gravity, and he wasn't leaning on anything anymore, his great mass was overcome by the Earth's gravitational pull, causing him to fall into the anaconda's artificial pond. [Yes, I am a science freak, but the main character does think on a scientific level in this part of the story, and I'm just trying to pull the reader into her mind] The serpent, seeing the opportunity, slithered over Brandon's massive stomach, paused to look at his face, then slithered onto the floor. Hissing in a way that suggested it was chuckling from the look of fear Brandon had on his face (which did look very humorous at the moment).

Annie was still sprawled on the floor, and was a little nervous about her slithering acquaintance. It raised its head until it was level with hers, but instead of rapping itself around the young girl, as anacondas did with larger pray then her, it smiled.

"Thanksss," said the beautiful three-eyed snake with a hiss. Annie was very amazed about the snake speaking, but it felt strangely natural, like in a dream.

"Any time," said Annie, in a voice a little louder and a bit more high- pitched then intended. This was beyond weird for her. Every other abnormal thing that she had been through could have had a scientific explanation. The scissors that were ruined years ago may have been a fault of the manufacturer, or Aunt Abigail trying to cut off too much hair at once. The dream that happened in reality as well as Annie's mind on Christmas could have been just coincidence. In addition, her ball-lightning theory seemed more likely then Annie causing it. Yet this time, science could be involved with what was happening.

The anaconda gave Annie one last wink with its right and middle eye then slithered to the door. It wasn't long when everyone jumped out of the way or else ran toward the nearest exit, screaming and shouting, "Snake!" as they tried to stay as far away from the anaconda as they could. Annie hoped that her serpentine associate would make it to its proper habitat without any problems.

Brandon finally seemed to have regained feeling in his legs when he rose to get out of the anaconda's tank. However, he received another nasty surprise; the glass reappeared as if it had never left, and Brandon was now trapped inside the snake's tank with no visible way out.

"Mum? Mummy?" he started panicking, sounding like a small child. Then he screamed for his mother. The Fiores were hurrying passed the tank as fast as they could. Apparently, they heard about the escaped anaconda, and were looking for their cherished son. Then Aunt Abigail turned to see her precious boy banging on the glass as hard as he could, soaking wet, and crying like a frightened infant.

"My darling baby!" screamed Aunt Abigail, "How on Earth did you get in there!?!"

She, too, started banging as hard as she could, crying for her dear baby dumpling, while Uncle Alfred tried to think of a way to get him out. Now, Annie knew that Brandon and Aunt Abigail were scared out of their wits, but instead of screaming, Brandon should have just stayed calm while his parents should have gone to get help. The sight of her step-family acting like chickens with their heads cut off was very funny, and Annie couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Unfortunately for her, Uncle Alfred heard it. She stopped just in time, but she knew that by the look he gave her that she was in big trouble. They did manage to get Brandon out of there, but the Fiores did have to pay for the damage that was done to the tank during their son's extraction. The zoo did give Brandon a free blanket and a teddy bear to calm him down, as he was mildly traumatized from being trapped in a reptile's holding tank. Indeed, when he wasn't shivering, he was hyperventilating.

When they got home, he was still in a rough state, so his mother made him a cup of hot chocolate. However, Annie had barley taken three steps when Uncle Alfred grabbed her by the wig, which was still securely pinned to her head.

"What happened?!" he yelled in Annie's ear.

"I swear, I don't know!" she yelled, her eyes watering with pain, as she tried to brake free of the firm grip that was pulling on her scalp.

He let out a growl. Then, still holding on to the wig, he threw Annie by the scalp into the corner in front of her closet. A good number of hairs were pulled as the force Alfred exerted on Annie caused the hair to be forced out of their follicles; while Annie's head hit the wooden edge of a nearby table hard enough for a trickle of blood to run down her face. She let out a scream of pain when she landed on the floor with great force. Then her uncle gave Annie a hard kick in the gut for screaming. It felt as if a hard, round stone inside her body were being moved around violently.

"DON'T LIE!" shouted Alfred. "YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! YOU DID IT! What did you do!?!"
"Nothing!" Annie shrieked. "Honest! One minute the glass was there. Then it was gone! I can't explain it! It was like magic!"

Now she did it. She had sealed her fate. The Fiores had a very Puritan attitude toward anything that could be described as "magical," even if it was from television, a storybook, or an experience. As soon as Annie let the word "magic" slip from her lips, Alfred flung the door to her closet open, threw her and her belongings in there, and locked her inside. And just before he slammed the shutters of her vent, her only source of proper light and fresh air, shut, he leaned very close to it and growled "There's no such thing as magic!" Then, he left a broken, bruised, and bloody Annie to cry in the darkness.

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