The thin stream of light illuminated only a tiny slice of whatever was ahead. She couldn't figure out where the light came from, since there was perfect darkness all around, but that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was finding out what the thing was.

She walked foward on the air, stepping boldly closer to it. Within a few strides, she was right in front of it.

As she watched, the light washed over it, and she saw that it really wasn't light at all. It was an eerie glow, illuminating from the thing itself, making it visible in the shadows. She had noticed that she had that same glow about herself, making her able to see her own feet step through the air.

As the glow spread, she could see that it wasn't a thing, but a person. A pale little girl, with blood-red eyes and light brown hair cut short, tied with a tan ribbon as a headband. She wore a plain yellow dress and tan tunic, with a small leather pouch at her side.

"Hello," the girl said in a small but firm voice. "I have been waiting for you, Farl Presea."

"How do you know my name?" she asked the little girl.

"I know many things about you, Farl Presea."

She stared at the child, and for the first time since she had entered it, the coldness of the shadows did not feel comforting. She felt a tightness in her chest as the icyness around her grew oppressing.

"What... what is you name?" she choked out.

"I am Cerise," the red-eyed girl said with a small giggle.

She took a deep breath, trying not to look into Cerise's eyes. "Why are you waiting for me in here?"

"I am the one who lured you here." There was a wicked glint in Cerise's eyes. "Did you feel like the shadows would be wonderful?" She did not answer, and the little girl giggled. "Oh, you did, you did! But they aren't nice anymore, are they? They're just cold now."

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, her hands folded at her chest. She wanted Cerise to go away so that the bleak blackness would cradle her in calmness again.

"So I could tell you of you job." Cerise was grinning evilly. "Papa and Mama are in the happy place, but they are unhappy. That's not right. Papa and Mama want to be happy. They won't be happy until the blood flows. You will make the blood flow, Farl Presea."

Her throat tightened. "Me?"

"Yes."

"Why me?"

Cerise was still grinning. "Papa and Mama do not want my little hands stained by blood. Farl Presea, you must make the blood flow." The small girl's grin changed to a dangerous scowl. "And if you do not listen to me, I will make the pain in your head. The pain in your head will be worse. Surrender to me and make the blood flow, or I will make the pain in your head. Papa taught me how."

"I won't kill anyone!" she yelled. Her voice echoed in the emptiness around them.

Cerise grinned once again. "Very well, Farl Presea. Very well." The glow surrounding Cerise began to fade. "Now, their lives shall be ruined, and it will be your fault." The glow faded completely, and the child was gone.

She stood in the air for a few seconds longer after Cerise disappeared, the cold and the shadows pressing against her frighteningly. Then, without warning, the darkness shattered like a fallen mirror, broke into a million shards around her. She fell, away from the darkness, down into the hole of nothing, nothing at all.

A scream escaped Presea's throat as she jolted awake. It was a short, small scream, but enough to frighten herself even more.

Her chocolate-brown eyes were wide with fear as Presea stared up at the ceiling, breathing hard, her heart racing. The first two dreams hadn't scared her, just left her with a chilling feeling. The dream she had just had probably wouldn't scare some people, but it terrified her.

She didn't move, clutching the bedsheets as she waited for her heart to slow its pace. Presea's gaze was focused on the plain white ceiling, but the blood-red eyes and pale face of Cerise still lingered in her mind.

You will make the blood flow, Farl Presea.

She knew they weren't just dreams anymore. They weren't just random things pulled from her subconcious. Presea didn't know whether they were symbolic or whether they were literal, but she knew the dreams were real.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Presea finally pushed the sheets away from herself. They were damp from her sweat.

The blond woman climbed out of bed, crossing the room on shaky legs to the bathroom. Shutting the door firmly behind herself, Presea knelt at the side of the inground pool that served as a bathtub. She removed the cover from the hole in the side of it. Hot water gushed out, beginning to fill up the bath.

Presea pulled her sweaty nightgown over her head, tossing it in a pile on the floor. She stepped into the half-filled bath, sitting on the small underwater ledge on one side, waiting for it to fill. Once the water reached her shoulders, Presea reached over, resealing the waterspout.

She ducked under the surface. The warm, relaxing water felt good against her clammy skin.

Resurfacing, Presea folded her arms, staring at the surface of the water, troubled. After a moment's thought, she decided --- she would have to tell someone about her dreams. She knew they were real, and they were telling her something. She needed help to find out what.

"But who?" she asked the still surface of the water. "Who could I tell?" It didn't answer. It wasn't like she had expected a reply.

Presea stayed in the bath longer than usual. She felt safer than she had when she had awaken. The warm water and quiet echo from the bare walls when she spoke comforted her, somehow. However, although she got to relax longer than usual, she didn't get to stay in as long as she wanted.

She jumped in surprise when there was a loud bang on the door. "Presea-san!" She recognized the voice. It was Fuu. She sounded desperate.

"Hold on a minute." Presea climbed out of the bath, drying off and squeezing excess water out of her hair as quickly as possible, not bothering to tie it up in a ponytail as usual. She pulled on her clothes in a rush, then flung the door open, revealing a frightened-looking Fuu. "What's wrong?"

Fuu looked Presea over, and relief washed over her face. "Oh, you're all right." She took on of the woman's hands as her expression became grave. "Presea-san, come with me. We need to talk."

Presea nodded, and the emerald-eyed girl turned, leading her out of the bathroom, out her Presea's room, and down the long hall.

Presea allowed Fuu to lead her through the flower gardens and past the maze-like rows of bushes. The blond teenager stopped on the circular stone walkway that surrounded the white marble fountain.

Fuu sat down on the ledge at the edge of the pool. Presea followed her lead, sitting next to the sixteen-year-old. Fuu took a deep breath, then spoke.

"This is where I spent the night last night." She pointed past the cascading water, to the base of the pillar in the middle of the fountain. "In there. I ran out here because I wanted to escape what I saw.

"Last night at dinner, I suddenly received a powerful headache. I do not know where it came from.

"The pain quickly faded, and instead, I saw something." Fuu's eyes were locked on her hands, which were clasped in her lap. "I saw a huge field, full of tall grass and wildflowers. On one side was a wall of shadows. You were standing in front of it.

"You were trembling as a little girl came out of the shadows. She had brown hair and pale skin, and eyes the color of blood. She could not have been older than nine.

"She spoke to you, Presea-san, and addressed you by title. Farl Presea."

Presea listened with a tightness in her chest as Fuu repeated the words that she had heard the little girl speak. They were not identical to the ones Cerise had spoken to her in her dream, but the message was the same. It was the confirmation of the fears that Presea had felt when Fuu described the girl's looks and how she addressed Presea by title. She knew that the little girl that Fuu saw was Cerise.

The woman's hands were clenched tightly together, grasping the hem of her tunic as Fuu finished her story. The teenage girl looked at Presea. "Presea-san, I fear for you. I'm afraid that what the little girl said was true.

"In what I saw, you did not go with her by you own will. As she said, I'm now afraid that she will 'make the pain in your head', whatever that may mean. I'm afraid she will make you kill someone on behalf of her father."

Presea opened her mouth to speak, but the words never made it to her lips.

A pain like none she had ever felt hit her. Presea let out a small cry, clutching her head in her hands much as Fuu had done the previous night when the headache had struck her. However, Presea felt many times more pain than the Magic Knight had, and she pressed her hands to her head more desperately.

She quickly realized that the pain was not in her head. That is, it wasn't physical pain. The searing feeling was in her mind, her conciousness.

The pain surged through her mind, ripping at thoughts, tearing at her concious. Presea's vision grew blurred, so she shut her eyes against it, and against the pain.

The intensity of it grew to a point where Presea couldn't stand it. She struggled to hold on to concious thought, but the pain hit her harder, ripping her conciousness from mental hands.

Fuu watched in horror as dark blue flames engulfed Presea. A scream escaped the woman's throat, whether from pain or matching terror Fuu did not know.

The intensity of the flames grew as Fuu watched; she could feel the heat from them. Through the blue waves of fire, the blond girl could see that the dim shape of Presea that she could see was wavering, shifting. As she watched, the screaming woman disappeared completely, and the fire around her went out immediatly.

"Presea-san!" Fuu leapt to her feet in surprise. She touched the spot where Presea had sat, as if believing that the woman was still there. Although she had felt the heat of the fire, the marble wasn't even burned. In fact, it was as cool as before. Presea couldn't have burned. The woman had disappeared. "Presea-san!!!"

Cerise sat on the edge of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, a grin on her lips. She had done it. She had made the pain in Farl Presea's head, just like Papa had showed her to. He was proud of her. There were only a few more steps before he and Mama could be happy.

She knew that her guest would not arrive for a little bit longer, so Cerise climbed down off the bed and walked over to the mirror on the wall. She took it off the wall, setting it on the floor so it leaned against the wall, then sat down on the cold stone floor. She wanted to sit.

"Spirits of my mother and father, please show your faces."

Cerise's pale reflection shifted out of view. The smokey faces of the cerulean-eyed woman and a man with dark hair and a thick beard appeared in its place. A smile spread across Cerise's lips. "I'm glad you came, Papa, Mama."

"We will always come to speak with you, my child," the sad-eyed woman said with a smile.

"We are proud of you," said the man in a strong voice. "I am proud of you." He smiled kindly at the pale girl. "You are doing the right thing, you know."

Cerise nodded. "Yes, Papa, and I am happy that you're proud of me, but I want to ask a question."

"Go ahead."

The red-eyed child stared at the floor, tracing an invisible circle on the stone with one finger. "Before you went to the happy place, when you used to be here with me, you told me making blood flow was bad. You said killing was bad." She didn't lift her face, but raised her gaze to meet his dark red one. "I trust you, Papa. I just want to know why it's not bad anymore."

A grim expression crossed his face. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

"What does that mean, Papa?"

"It means that when someone wrongs you, justice must be served, my dear," the woman answered sadly. "It pains us that you must carry the burden of bringing that justice to the ones who wronged your papa and I, but there is no other way. We hope that you can forgive us of that."

"Oh, always, Mama." Cerise smiled. "I'm not mad that it's my job. I only wanted to know why."

"Now you do," said the man. He touched one finger of his strong hand to his side of the glass, pointing at her. "Remember, Cerise. Even though we are making you carry our duties, we love you. If we could do it ourselves, we would."

"I understand, Papa." Cerise heard a crackling sound. She looked over her shoulder and saw a column of dark blue flames forming. "Oh, I have to go now. The key to your happiness is coming." She turned back to the man and the woman with a smile. "I love you, Mama." She leaned over, kissing the mirror where the woman's face was. "I love you, Papa." She kissed the spot where the man's face was. "I will work fast, so that you can be happy."

"Thank you, sweetheart," the woman said, smiling kindly.

The man nodded. "We love you as well. Now hurry."

"Yes, Papa." The man and woman's faces shifted from view again, leaving only her own reflection.

Cerise got to her feet, turning around as the column of blue fire disappeared, leaving a frightened-looking blond woman standing in its place. Her long hair was messy, and her clothing was rumpled. Cerise smiled.

"Come with me, Farl Presea. I will show you what to do." She reached out, taking the woman's hand. Cerise led her out the heavy wooden door, down the spiral staircase, down to the first floor of the castle.

The pale child led the woman down the steps for a few minutes. Cerise's room was on the very top floor, and her mother's room was on the first floor. That was where they needed to go.

"I wish Meline was here to help me," Cerise sighed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. As the crossed the great hall to the opposite side, she continued, "But Meline can't come out, so I'll have to do my best."

Cerise let go of the blond woman's hand as they reached a wooden door, similair to the one from her own room. This door, however, had a tiny dove carved into the frame. "This is Mama's room," the pale girl announced as the swung the door open.

After she had gently pulled the silent woman into the room, Cerise pointed to the bed in the corner. "Please sit, Farl Presea. I'll get the things you need."

Hesitantly, the woman sat down on the bed. The matress was thick and soft, and the covers were made of a familiar material. Wool? Yes, that was it. She pulled her legs up on the pale blue covers, crossing them.

She rested her elbows on her knees, folding her hands in front of her as she watched Cerise bustling about the closets. Her long, dark blond hair spilled down over her shoulders, the last foot or so resting on the robin's egg-colored blankets. The tips curled up a little. She grimaced slightly in annoyance; she wanted desperately to tie the long, shiny locks up.

After a few minutes, Cerise came back over to her, holding a large bundle at her side. "Please stand up, Farl Presea."

The woman had a pounding headache, and wasn't in the mood to argue, even with a little girl. She stood up, and Cerise unfolded the things in the bundle, laying them out carefully on the bed.

"Mama showed me how," she said as she smoothed out the cloth. "She showed me how to get you ready. Papa showed me what to do with you.

"Take off what you're wearing, please, Farl Presea."

"Why?" The woman hugged her arms around herself, gripping her elbows. "Why should I?"

"You have to change into these clothes instead." Cerise looked up at her with blood-red eyes. "Please, Farl Presea."

The woman sighed. "All right, all right." Cerise smiled.

She undressed, standing in her underclothing as Cerise picked up a pair of tight black leggings from the bed. "Put these on, Farl Presea." The blond woman stuck one foot in one of the legs, pulling it up, then the other foot in the other leg. She pulled the waist of the leggings up until they were on completely.

"Thank you. Now, Farl Presea," Cerise continued, holding out a black shirt, also skintight, "please put this on as well."

The woman took the shirt from the pale little girl, pulling it over her head. She pulled it down all the way. The sleeves were an inch wide, with a low-scooped collar, and the bottom of the shirt didn't even reach halfway down her middle.

"Now, Farl Presea, I have to help you on with this." Cerise was holding a large piece of black cloth. "Please kneel, Farl Presea."

The woman lowered herself to her knees, her arms at her sides. Cerise walked behind her, draping the cloth around the woman's shoulders. "Lift your arms straight out to your sides, Farl Presea." The woman obeyed, and Cerise pulled the cloth back under her arms and wrapped it around the tops again, forming long sleeves that reached her wrists.

"Keep your arms out." Cerise walked out in front of her, taking the ends of the cloth and wrapping one across the woman's chest and around her back, then the other. She repeated the process over her stomach, pulling the two ends tight in front of her.

Cerise tucked the tip of the end she held in her right hand through a slit in the end she held in her left hand. The pale girl folded the cloth that had gone through the slit back again,tucking the tip through the slit a second time.

"You may stand up now, Farl Presea."

The woman stood. The skintight leggings and the wrapped, long-sleeved shirt were comfortable; she found she could move easily in them. She did a few stretches as Cerise returned to the bed, fetching another item of clothing.

"Now put this on, Farl Presea." The brown-haired girl held a dark red, short-skirted dress with sleeves like the first shirt the woman had put on out to her. Without objection, the woman pulled the dress over her head. Cerise looked at her, and then, after a moment's thought, took a strip of black cloth, identical to the kind the shirt was made of, and tied it securly around the woman's waist, acting as a belt. The skirt, which had slits up to the belt on both sides, reached a few inches short of halfway down her thighs.

Cerise took a pair of boots and gloves from the bed. She held the boots, matching in color to the dress, out to the blond woman, who took them. She pulled them on, finding that they fit snugly and reached the bottoms of her knees. Then she took the red gloves that Cerise held out to her, pulling them on.

Looking at the gloves, the woman noticed that on the back of the hand on the ledt glove was a red jewel, an even darker red than the glove itself. She asked Cerise what it's purpose was.

"That allows you to call weapons to yourself, and to use magic against your enemy. Kneel, Farl Presea." The woman kneeled again, and Cerise stood behind her, brushing out her long hair. "I don't know how it works, but Mama told be that it would."

After she brushed out the woman's hair, Cerise pulled it back in a ponytail, securing it with a piece of black cloth, similair to the tan one she wore as a headband in her own hair. The pale girl smiled as the woman stood, looking her over. "Yes, this is as Mama told me. You will make the blood flow well, Farl Presea.

"I know that you do not remember your name, or how you came here. The pain in your head saw to that. But you don't remember the pain. You don't remember anything. So I will tell you."

Cerise sat on the edge of her mother's empty bed. The woman sat next to her.

"Your given name was Presea. Your former title was Farl Presea. Now you will be called just Presea. The ones that you fight will recognize you by that name. Giving you a different name would cause confusion, and Papa said that would get in the way.

"Your job is to do as I command you to, and fight for Papa and Mama." Tears glistened in the child's blood-red eyes. "Papa and Mama are in the happy place, but they are not happy, and that isn't right. You have to make the blood flow so that they'll be happy."

Presea nodded. "How do I make the blood flow? Whose?"

"You will use your weapons --- any weapon you will to come from the jewel into your hand --- and the magic that Papa taught me to give to you to make the blood flow." Cerise's eyes burned with hate through the tears. "The ones whose blood you will make flow are the blood of the Magic Knights.

"The Magic Knights killed Papa! They killed Mama!" Cerise had turned her head and was facing Presea now. The tears in her eyes had spilled out, and they ran down her cheeks in the torchlight. "When they killed Emeraude-hime, they killed Cephiro! The bad things that happened when she died killed Papa. The ground shook, and a big rock fell on him. Then Mama died from sadness!" Cerise's small hands were clenched tightly as she vented her anger. "Meline took care of me, but Meline is away now! Meline can't take care of me! All I have is talking to Papa and Mama through the mirror, but their faces are so sad I can hardly stand to see them!

"All I can do is what they ask!" Cerise grasped Presea's hands in her own fiercely. "They want the blood of the Magic Knights to flow. They want the Magic Knights dead so that they will be happy, and all the other people that the Magic Knights killed will be happy." Her eyes were wide, desperate. "Please, Presea, you must kill them. You must make Papa and Mama happy."

A faint smile came to Presea's lips. "I will do as you ask..."

"Cerise."

"Cerise-san." Presea nodded, the light from the torches on the walls reflecting off her chocolate-colored eyes. "I will let you command me. I will kill the Magic Knights."

Cerise grinned. "Papa told me not to hug you. He said it would soften you. But if I was allowed, I would." She turned from Presea, wiping the tears from her cheeks, turning back to the items from the bundle on the bed. "Now I will finish getting you ready to kill the Magic Knights."


End of Part One