A loud whimper woke Alexandra from her deep slumber. Bolting upright, she looked around in panic, reaching out for her bow on instinct. Her eyes came to rest on the outline of Rachel's figure, huddled under her blankets, shaking.

Quietly she slipped out of bed and crept over to the small girl's side. A sudden flash of lightning from the continuing storm illuminated the room for a brief moment, and Alexandra could see tears streaking down the poor girl's face. Gently, she touched Rachel's shoulder.

"Rache..?" She called softly. "Are you okay? What's wrong? You're not still scared of the storm are you?" Rachel began to sob loudly, shaking ever harder. "C'mon, Rachel, tell me what's wrong. Please?"

Finally the girl spoke. "I...I can't. It...hurts. It hurts so much..."

Alexandra's face showed a combination of worry, fear, and shock. "What hurts? What's wrong? Tell me."

Suddenly Rachel stopped crying and just lay there, staring. "It doesn't matter..." she mumbled. "Nothing matters."

Alexandra sat there in shock for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong with the normally happy and bubbly Rachel that everyone enjoyed. Slowly, she stood up, her fists clenched and trembling. She turned to walk away, then stopped. "Rachel...?"

"Yes?"

Without warning, Alexandra swung around and slapped the girl. "Don't. You. EVER. Say that. Ever again. I swear to God..." She sunk to her knees again, her head resting on the edge of Rachel's bed. "Now tell me what's wrong. Neither of us are sleeping until you do."

Rachel hesitated. "I...had a dream. About the past."

Alex tilted her head to look at the girl. "What about your past..?"

Taking a deep breath, the young mage began to speak.

"When I was younger…I had a family. I had a home. I had a mother and a father and a sister. My mother was beautiful, smart, kind, and worked hard to take care of my sister and I. She knew a little bit of magic and would teach me and Erica some small things. Erica was always really good at it, but well…you've seen my magic. I'll just never be as talented as Erica…

My father wasn't home very often, but I know he loved us. He was always away working so that we could have a good life. But no matter how busy he was, he would always come home every weekend. On weekends we would spend time as a family. We would go to a park, make up games, or just find a way to turn chores into fun.

Then there was my sister…Erica was perfect. Everybody loved her. She would stick up for me when boys would tease me. I could never ask for a better sister. She was my hero. I loved her more than anything." Rachel paused, a dreamy look in her eyes. She sat there for a moment, thinking, before continuing.

"One weekend…" her voice cracked suddenly. "One weekend, father didn't come home." She stared off at the wall, but still continued, however, her eyes were watery and she spoke in a low voice. "Mother was heart broken…she spent most of the time staring into space or just cleaning. Then one day a messenger arrived with news of what had happened to him. He had been assigned to clean up some of the stray monsters in the Clock Tower when a gear snagged his cloak…he died from head injuries and blood loss, supposedly. I think he's buried somewhere near here…."

Her voice sounded strained now, and Alexandra could tell she was holding back tears. Rising from the floor where she had been kneeling, she moved to beside Rachel and embraced the small girl lovingly. "Shh…don't worry, it's okay. You don't have to continue if it hurts too much…."

Rachel shook her head stubbornly. Strangely, it felt better to talk about her past, than to keep it locked inside of her. Now that she'd started talking, she felt like she couldn't stop until she finished. She HAD to tell Alexandra now.

She took a deep breath and went on. "Mother went insane with grief. She didn't recognize Erica or I anymore and she kept screaming for 'her Robert'. One day when Erica and I returned from the market…we found her dead. She'd stabbed herself through the heart…." At this Rachel burst into tears, burying her face in Alexandra's shoulder.

Alexandra winced slightly at this, but lightly touched Rachel's hair, singing softly. "It's all right…..it's all right….calm down now…Rachel, please calm down…"

They sat there for several minutes, Alexandra comforting Rachel, before Rachel spoke again.

"Mother…left a note. It said to remember that she always loved us and that she hoped we would grow up to live happy healthy lives….it also said that she was sorry that she couldn't stay with us or something….I don't remember much about what happened after that, except Erica was so mad that she wouldn't go to the funeral…she kept saying that Mom abandoned us…"

Alexandra wiped a tear off of Rachel's cheek gently with her finger. "Erica was mad at your mother for leaving you two alone in the world?"

Rachel nodded. "She kept saying that if Mother truly loved us, she wouldn't have gone…"

Alex hugged Rachel tightly, resting her head on top of the other's. "You poor thing…"

"What happened to Erica, though? Why don't you live with her now?" Alexandra questioned, looking slightly confused.

"Well…after Mother died, the two of us tried our best to survive. Erica quit her magic training and got a job at the local in, trying to get enough money for us to get by on. For a point there, we were happy. Just the two of us. It could've gone on like that forever, but…"

"But..?" Alexandra's eyes widened. Could it be that Erica died too, leaving poor Rachel all alone? What else could've happened..?

"But one day…she came home from work to tell me that she was leaving. Some hooded figure had told her that they knew of a way that she could get the power to protect the one she loved and she was going to take her chance…for me. Because she loved me." Rachel was clinging desperately to Alexandra's arm now, silently begging her not to move.

"After that, I was alone. The neighbors took pity on me, and gave me some food and money, but I was still forced to find work. On top of work, I was determined to become a wizard to show Erica that I don't need to be protected so that she could come home…."

Rachel burst into tears again, clinging tighter to Alexandra, sobbing loudly. Alexandra's embrace suddenly reminded her of the time a group of boys had been picking on her, calling her useless and throwing stones. One of them had pushed Rachel to the ground and pinned her there with his foot as another one picked up a large rock and aimed it at her head. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Erica had appeared and chased the boys off. Running over to where Rachel was, Erica had scooped Rachel up lovingly, and cradled her there, telling her that everything would be okay. Rachel, bruised yet indignant had yelled at her savior.

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO PROTECT ME!" Rachel suddenly burst out, pushing Alexandra away. She clapped her hand over her mouth in shock and lowered her head. "I mean…um…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Alex stared at the girl for a moment, the laughed. She leaned over, embracing the girl yet again. "Rachel..?" She murmured lightly, a small smile playing at her lips.

"Hm…?" Suddenly Alexandra tipped Rachel's head upwards, looking into her eyes. Then, without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Rachel's small, pale ones. Rachel tensed slightly, but then pressed backwards. Then, Alexandra broke away and it was over just as soon as it started.

"You're weird." She hugged Rachel closer, then laid down on the small bed, snuggling closely.

"Hey Alex, thank you for comforting me….I appreciate it…." Rachel cuddled up against Alexandra's chest, closing her eyes.

"No problem…it's the least I could do as your friend." Alexandra blushed slightly. "However, none of this ever happened. Especially the….thing."

"Okay…" At that, Rachel fell asleep, a content smile on her peaceful face. Alexandra blushed yet again and gently kissed the top of Rachel's head before drifting back to sleep herself.

Author's Note: Hello lovely peoples who is reading the story. :D

The past...four chapters were written by my bestest friend Brendan, but this lovely chapter was brought to you, by yours truly, The Man in the Moon. :D

Er...I mean Mairi. D:

For the record, I'm not insane. I'm just not sane, either.

Oh, and if you people are lucky I might grace you with the honor of reading more of my work sometime. D:

A.K.A-Brendan's forcing me to write chapter 7. D:

Constructive critisizm is loved, and people telling me how much they love Rachel/Alexandra as a pairing is even more loved.

M'kays, remember...

ALWAYS R&R, FUCKERS!