Disclaimer: All this stuff belongs to SE.
Once, in a land of white sun and white sands, there lived ruler more powerful than any before or since.
His subjects called him 'the Great General' and worshipped him from afar, for he was reckless and terrible toward his enemies.
All was well, until his advisors urged him to produce an heir, and brought before him a woman of fair face and good breeding, by the name of Scarlet. Within a month of his wedding, the General discovered his new bride plotting-- with her lover-- to overthrow him. His judgement was quick.
Their deaths were slow.
But his wrath did not end with the conspirator's lives. Every advisor who urged him to take a wife also suffered a blade, as did their families, and any who dared voice a word of protest.
And still his rage did not subside.
To his people's horror, he announced he would wed again-- not once, but every night. And each bride would perish with the dawn.
That evening, a lovely young woman-- a debutante of proud family-- was called to his chambers. In the morning, her body was delivered to her parents.
The next day, a common prostitute was arrested and brought to him. At daybreak, her corpse lay at her usual streetcorner.
A cry of despair rose from the General's subjects-- for they saw that neither the power of wealth nor the obscurity of poverty could protect them from their lord's madness.
The nights that followed were called 'The Scissor Nights' for every father who valued his daughter, and every woman who valued her life, sheared off her hair, and dressed as a boy, and hid indoors. The sound of scissors-- cutting hair, cutting fabric for new clothes, cutting rags into thick curtains to cover the windows-- rang all across the land.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
The sound of fear.
The General had a harem built-- not large, as harems go-- but with thick walls and barred windows, and guards posted at every door. It was here that he brought the short-haired women who caught his eye, and here that women waited for their turn to perish.
Some, he did not even sleep with-- only wedded and slew.
The land ran red with the blood of innocents, and many men wept for sweethearts or sisters, but none dared defy the Great General.
One woman, however-- did.
Even when the Scissor Nights became Scissor Years, her windows remained unshuttered, and her hair trailed down her back in a single plait. Moreover, she walked the streets freely, selling flowers in the near-empty bazaar.
She was the daughter of the General's single surviving advisor.
Her name was Aeris.
"Your new bride, my lord."
The guard bowed, then hesitated, clearly wondering if he should pry Gast away from his daughter before departing.
Sephiroth dismissed his sentry with a jerk of his head, glowing green eyes never leaving the pair before him.
The girl-- covered in a gauzy veil-- sat with her hands clasped in her lap, and her father hovered over her, tears visible in his eyes. Gast was whispering, but Sephiroth could hear him anyway: "Sweetheart, please. There must be another way . . ."
The veiled head gave a quick shake. "I'm sure about this, Father. Leave it be now. I'll be alright-- whatever happens."
He could tell by the angle of the head that she was watching him, steadily, even as she spoke to her father, not staring at her hands and trembling like all the others.
The old man, apparently percieving that he was getting nowhere with his daughter, spun around to face him.
Sephiroth cut him off before he opened his mouth. The General was half-afraid the old man was going to beg for his daughter's life, and nothing grated on Sephiroth more than pleas for mercy.
"You know I did not ask this of you, Gast. In fact, I had no intention of doing so."
Although I cannot say I am sorry. I've heard your daughter is lovely.
The man looked like he would cry, then.
"I know!" he almost wailed, "But please! For the Planet's sake--"
"Enough!" Sephiroth rose, drawing himself up to his full height. "Get out!" He half-dragged, half-pushed the old professor out of the room. At the doorway, he added, almost gently, "For your sake, old friend, I'll make it very quick. I'll even keep the body mostly intact." Then he shut the door in Gast's face.
Time: About 3.5 hours.
Note: Kind of an odd place to leave off, I know, but I'm getting tired. I just really wanted to post something today. It's my birthday.
Oh, and I should warn you, while I may eventually write an "ending" for this fic, I doubt that it will ever be "done." Sharazad/Aeris will continue to tell stories ad infinitum.