This is my first story. I've been thinking about this special story for quite a while now and since I'm bored I thought I should give it a try.

I'm a huge Tales of Symphonia-Fan and my favourite Character is Anna Irving (or Aurion). It always bothered me that we actually know nothing about her. OK, we know her name and that she fell in love with Kratos, but that's it. So I decided to tell her story. I thought about her so many times and I believe that I figured out how she probably was.

Please don't kill me if get something wrong. My first language is not English, but I'm trying to improve. So tell me when I make spelling or grammar mistakes.

I'm going to write in her point of view.

And before I forget it, I do not own the characters or locations of Tales of Symphonia. (Although I would want to)

I hope you'll enjoy!

Prologue:

Have you ever experienced years that are too short or seconds which feel like eternity? No? Well, I certainly have and it was the best time in my entire life! There was a lot of pain and despair, but also joy and hope! And honestly I don't think there's someone who felt more pain than me or more happiness. I think I was a cursed, but also a blessed person.

I guess I should just tell you the story of my life. …Oh? You know already? How? What? He told you? Really? That doesn't sound like him. I mean he is not exactly what you call a chatterbox. Especially when it comes to private things...Wait a minute! He only told you the sad part? And just the end? He's a good storyteller, but he sucks at telling our story. Okay, forget what he told you. I will tell you how it REALLY was and not the totally sad and tragic version.

Alright, where should I begin?

Hmm...Got it!

I'll start with a day in hell.

Damn Anna! Just push! You know what happens, if you don't! Sweat and blood was running down her body, when she pushed the huge stone forward. Her short, chocolate brown hair moved slightly in the soft wind. With one hand she whipped off the sweat of her forehead. Her soft face was covered in dirt, but her hazelnut eyes were still sharp and even now full of life. Her face didn't bear the same despair like all the other prisoners at the Asgard-human ranch. She seemed like she was still fighting. Still resisting. Still hoping.

Two Desians were watching the group of ten humans closely and whenever someone got slower they used their whips with terrible precision. She knew that moving those stones was absolutely pointless. It was just painful and exhausting, but that was its purpose. It should break the body and the will of every human in this ranch.

"Move, Human!" yelled one of the Desians and hit her so hard with his whip, that Anna could fell how her skin was torn up. Then she felt warm blood running down her back. "Hey, keep your temper! This one's the Angelus Project. If she dies, you'll be the next one" said the other half-elf to calm his comrade down, although he didn't seem to be happy about that either.

Angelus Project…Every day she heard it. Every single day since she was captured she was called the Angelus Project. It seemed to be a big secret, because even some of the Desians didn't know what it was. But Anna had eventually figured that it was some kind of research or rather experiment. Every human in this ranch had an Exsphere directly attached to his hand, except hers. Her Exsphere was attached to her chest, but that wasn't the only thing that was different. Around this cursed jewel there was a Key-Crest or at least that's how the Desians called it.

It didn't take her long to realise that this thing was slowly sucking the life out of her. Since the Exsphere had touched her skin she felt threatened by this thing. It felt alive. Like an animal that was slowly devouring her soul. Her Exsphere was somehow special. Kvar once mentioned that it was more powerful than a normal Exsphere, but she couldn't care less about this fact. For her it was just more dangerous.

The only positive thing about it was that no one dared to hurt her too much. Killing her would be an unforgivable crime, because her DNA was the only one compatible for the Angelus Project. Of all the people in Sylvarant her DNA was suited for this slow torture and it was a slow torture indeed. Even toughest ones among the other prisoners died or were killed after three months. They were taken by the Desians, brought to a secret place and no one saw them again. But Anna lived in this hell now over a year although it felt like eternity. She was now 20 years old. She had no idea how long she would have to wait for her death.

Suddenly a little child collapsed in front of her…and no one seemed to register it. The other prisoners ignored the body and just kept pushing the stones. Not even the Desians cared! Usually they at least looked if the human was still alive, but this time they did absolutely nothing! No one cares if this child is alive or dead! Not even the other prisoners! "Hey, maggot! Go back to your place!" shouted one of the half-elves, when Anna ran to the little child. She kneeled down and carefully picked the kid up. It was a little girl with black, curly hair. Her whole body was covered with bruises and blood.

After a few seconds she realised that she was holding a corpse. You poor, poor little girl! You died in front of all those people and no one even flinched. I hope you're in a better place now. May Martel give you peace. A fewtears were running down her cheeks, when the Desians's whip hit her the first time. "I said, back to your place, maggot!" he shouted.

"What the hell is wrong with you? This child died right in front of your eyes and you pretend like nothing happened!" screamed Anna, but she didn't just scream at the Desians. She screamed at the other humans as well. No matter how often you see the death it should never become insignificant. The whip hit her second time. "Back to work, bitch!" he yelled. The whip hit her the third time. "No!" she answered silently. Yeah, Anna! Make it worse and talk back. That's very smart of you! she thought when the two Desians started to hit her together.

15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22…They don't stop hitting me! Maybe…I'll die today. Kvar would be so mad. His precious Angelus Project failed, because two Desians beat me to death!

25, 26, 27, 28, 29… I wonder if he would kill those two. I hope not. They're not so bad actually. I could think of plenty of other Desians, who are worse. But Kvar is not very forgiving.

35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40…Why can't I just faint? That would help to endure the pain. Oh great, they start to hit me harder. I guess they are becoming angry because I'm not screaming. Maybe I should. The pain is really great. But screaming won't make it better.

47, 48, 49, 50…Ok; now I feel the blood loss. But the last time I was punished like this I lost more blood. Oh my goddess, Anna! Do you know how you sound? Like someone who spent way too much time in a human ranch. Didn't you promise yourself that you would at least try to escape? And did you? Not even once! You have to try before you're allowed to give up!

"Stop" said a calm, deep voice. And the Desians….really stopped. Anna's body was shaking. Now that the Desians stopped she felt that her entire back was covered in blood. The pain was actually not that bad. It was really sad, but she felt worse pain. Then she heard the cold and sharp voice of Kvar "I thought I told you that A012 should be treated carefully. You two will be punished for disobeying those orders." Now those two Desians are in deep trouble! Kvar himself caught them. They will be cleaning cells for a looong time. …Hey,…but who told them to stop? she asked herself. Anna, still kneeling on the ground, turned around. She looked up and saw the person who just saved her life.

It was a man. He had spiky reddish-brown hair that was totally messy. He was really tall and looked directly at her. He wore white clothes, but she couldn't describe them closer. She had never seen anything like it. They were very fancy and in this ranch totally out of place. This man seemed to be older than her, but not much older. His face looked very strict. He's human! But how can that be? Desians hate humans! she thought, but then she looked into his eyes. They were somehow red yet so brown that it didn't look weird. His eyes had a hard expression. Anna, who could read people like books, saw that this man didn't want to be here. He felt uneasy. And there was something else, something that caught her attention more than anything else. His look made her feel uncomfortable. It was very strange. Humans usually didn't give her that kind of feeling. Maybe I'm wrong. He doesn't…feel human. Perhaps he is something else… Although a small of her had to admit that he was quite handsome. Very handsome actually, but so…cold.

Then she looked away. She was afraid that if she looked at him too long, she would be punished again. Besides this man was absolutely frightening. No, not frightening. Rather like his pure presence demanded respect. And for once she was willing to give him that kind of respect. Who in Martel's name is this? "I must apologize, Lord Kratos. A012 is a trouble maker since the day she got her. And the fact that she can't be punished properly does not make it better" explained Kvar. Wait a minute! LORD Kratos? This guy is a superior of Kvar? But he is…kinda human! That's absolutely impossible!

"She is the most promising host body of the Angelus Project till now. She is at this ranch for more than a year now and doesn't seem to have the slightest problem with the Crystal. If she survives long enough, this Cruxis Crystal will be absolutely flawless" said Kvar. "Impressive" replied Lord Kratos. Anna smiled faintly. This man couldn't care less about Kvar's words. In fact he seemed to be bored to death. When was the last you smiled? It was such a long time ago that you forgot how it feels to smile. Even if this guy is a Desian, I start to like him.

Then Kvar continued "If I'm able to harvest a Cruxis Crystal of that quality I will surely become the leader of the five Grand Cardinals." Suddenly Anna started laughing. She couldn't help it. What Kvar had said, sounded just too ridiculous for her. Leader of the Grand Cardinals? He's got to be kidding! "Kvar, before you become the leader of the Grand Cardinals hell freezes up." "Shut up, inferior being or I'll…" "Do what? You cannot kill me and every other punishment won't stop me from being a pain in the neck." Since the day she was captured by the Desians, she used every opportunity to get on Kvar's nerves. It was the only thing she enjoyed doing. That was indeed in some way quite pitiable.

"I have to apologize again. Even after a year she still doesn't know how to behave. I will order some guards to bring A012 to her cell. I want to show you later how well the Crystal is growing." Great Anna! Later you will be REALLY tortured. Why can't you just shut up? Just once! Both of them started to walk away. She was still kneeling in the dirt and waiting for the guards to arrive. "What's your name?" someone asked her suddenly. Surprised she realised that Lord Kratos had asked her that question. "A…Anna. Anna…Irving" she stuttered confused. Then he walked away. That was…weird! He asked for my name. He's the first person to ask for my name for over a year. Actually that was my first real conservation in months. As short it may was. Due to the fact that the Desians couldn't punish her properly they started to hit other humans instead. That was the reason why not even the other prisoners wanted to talk to her.

She was looking at him, while he was walking away. With just one little word this man had saved her life. Her life might be miserable and to her death was maybe a good option. But even so she was still grateful. And because of that she whispered "Thanks for saving my life." And even though it was completely impossible that he heard her, she somehow had the feeling that he had gotten every single word.

The first time she had seen her cell, Anna hadn't understood why it was so big. But after her first personal torture, she had. Kvar did everything to ensure that her body and soul was tortured enough to let the damn Crystal grow accurately. Her body was beaten enough by the Desians, but Kvar took personally care of torturing her mentally. Once in a fortnight he let his soldiers kill people right in front of her eyes. Mostly people from Luin, her hometown. No matter how often she watched those people get killed it never ever left her cold. This kind of torture hurt her more than anything else could and Kvar was well aware of that.

Right now he showed Lord Kratos how well this torment worked. Anna saw the young woman who was held by two Desians and immediatly started to beg "Please! Please! Don't do it! Please don't! I beg of you please don't kill her! PLEASE!" The woman was crying and too afraid to do anything. Her body was shaking. But Anna could only stand and watch how one of the half-elves cut her throat. Blood was pouring down from her neck and painted her whole body crimson red.

Anna fell on her knees and started to sob. She covered her face her hands to hide her tears. It was always like that. She couldn't do anything. She was the reason that those people died. And because of that every time she saw them die it tore her heart apart. It hurt deep down inside of her. A pain she couldn't escape. "Mental torture has proven to be very effective" Kvar explained Lord Kratos. Both were standing behind a window to watch her closely but not to be directly involved in the process. "In a few moments you will understand what I mean"

And then it happened. She felt a sudden burn insider her chest. The blue Crystal, attached to her skin, started to glow and turned purple. Anna screamed. Far too often had this happened. The Crystal was right now absorbing a bit of her soul. While she was screaming out of pain, she could see how excited and pleased Kvar was. This Bastard! He should burn in hell! For some seconds her body felt like it would burn to ashes, but then the glowing stopped and the pain vanished.

Totally exhausted she fell on the ground. Even though she didn't feel any pain anymore she still felt miserable. Another part of her was gone. Anna felt incomplete and hollow. She was still crying. She didn't know how long she could take all this. Soon it will drive me insane…

"It is truly amazing how well the Crystal absorbs her Mana. And it's even more surprising how well she takes all this. She is more resistant than any other host body. However, after the Crystal absorbed such a big amount of Mana she always loses consciousness." At least something Kvar doesn't know Actually Anna never fainted. She just pretended, because then she was left alone in her cell. And so she had usually an hour just for herself.

She heard that the Desians left and that Kvar told Lord Kratos something uninteresting, but after a while she was all alone. She sat up and realised relieved that the Desians took the corpse with them. But the floor was still covered in blood. Well, better than being alone with a corpse. She tried to wipe off the blood on her hands, when a strange feeling overcome her. Something is wrong… She turned around and saw that Lord Kratos was still standing behind the window, watching her.

"Oh my goddess!" she screamed and jumped up. This is bad! He knows that I didn't fainted. Shit! He's going to tell Kvar! I'm screwed! "You look quite awake for someone who's supposed to be unconsciousness" he simply commented. "Well, I ahhh….I guess….Why should I answer you? It's not like you care anyway!" she answered a bit angry and confused. What's wrong with him? Why is he talking to me? "You are mistaken. I care. If a human can fool Kvar this easily I should reconsider his position as Grand Cardinal" he replied calm. This answer surprised her so much that she couldn't answer for a few moments.

"Oh…that's…You're weird!" she answered "What are you doing here?"

"Watching the Angelus Project."

"Yeah, of course you're doing that. But trust me nothing interesting is going to happen while you're here."

"I never expected that."

"Then what's the point in watching me?"

"I'm just interested."

"Interested in what?"

"How someone behaves after this kind of treatment."

"Do you mean the whole human ranch experience or the torture from earlier?"

"Both."

"Well, I never felt better in my entire life! Happy now?"

"Not quite."

"You don't waste any words, do you?"

"…"

"It's strange…"

"What?"

"You don't look like a half-elf, but you are certainly no human."

"Why do you think I'm not human?"

"Because Kvar would never ever accept a human as his superior! Besides you don't feel human."

"What do you mean?"

"Your Aura…your presence. It feels just too different." What a stupid thing to say! Do you know how ridiculous you sound?

"…"

"Never mind. Still interested in my behaviour?"

"Still interested."

"You're weird."

"You said that already."

"It's still true."

"…."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Talking to me! You are a superior of Kvar! You're supposed to treat me like dirt not talk to me like I'm a normal human being!"

"Do want me to treat you like dirt?"

"No, of course not! It's just strange."

"You are repeating yourself."

"…I simply can't believe it!"

"Believe what?"

"That…that someone like you…is…well, I guess nice. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I like you or anything, but you are not as disgusting as the others."

"…."

"Perhaps I'm wrong. It would be not the first time I misjudged someone."

Before he could answer the door opened and a Desian entered. "Lord Kratos? Lady Pronyma sent a message. It seems to be very important." Man, this guy is absolutely afraid of him! His whole body shivers. Well, I guess he should be. Something tells me that Lord Kratos is extremely dangerous… "I'm on my way." he replied with his calm voice. Just one last look and then he left the room.

She heard the half-elf saying "The host-body is awake!" But she really didn't care. Anna was just confused. Who the hell is this guy? And why do I have the strange feeling that he will cause me a lot of trouble? She decided just to forget about him. Worrying wouldn't help her. She tried to get a bit of sleep before the Desians decided to torture her some more. But I would still like to know if he's a human or not she thought before she fell asleep.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Well, I certainly had fun writing it.

Reviews are very appreciated!